Wedding Guests; this is what you are spending to attend that wedding!

We all know that weddings cost money. Second to your house { and possibly luxury car }, your wedding will {most likely} be the single most expensive day of your life. Probably why, in some cultures parents and indeed men and women start to save for their wedding even long before they even dating. 

There are numerous articles, features and advice for couples planning a wedding and how they can save money, how to calculate their budget and so on... but do you ever think about the wedding guest? 

We've all been there. Christmas comes and about 5 million friends get engaged at once  {or so in seems}, and they all seem to want to get married within the same 6 month period {some even in the same month, the cheek!}. You do some quick calculations and realize you'll have to sell a kidney just to make in through June this year and that's before you get your Christmas credit card bill. 

So where does all a guest's money go? 

Let's see what seriously smart gift card company One4all survey found... 

The highlights... 

• 72% of Irish people plan to attend a wedding this year with almost a third (31%) saying they will go to two weddings this year
• 41% admit to declining an invitation due to the cost of the day
• Over two thirds (67%) give the happy couple a gift even they don’t attend
• 1 in 4 spend €150 - €200 on a wedding present
• Almost half (40%) say they always buy a new outfit for a wedding
• 60% spend up to €150 on a new outfit for a wedding
• 30% splash the cash on a hotel or B&B when attending with 44% spending €100-€150 on accommodation
• 1 in 5 women get their hair and make-up professionally done
• Cash is the most popular wedding gift (57%) followed by 1 in 4 giving the happy couple a gift card
• Gift cards, an all expenses paid honeymoon, cash and a washing machine topped the list of the best wedding presents while his & her towels, bedding, canteens of cutlery and a kitchen clock were voted the worst

The gift of generosity

When it comes to buying a gift for the happy couple, it seems that we are a generous nation with 67% saying that they give the bride and groom a gift even if they don’t attend the wedding. Over half (57%) give cash while a gift card is the second most popular choice for 1 in 4.  Two thirds (65%) spend up to €150 on a gift for the happy couple while a generous 1 in 4 say they usually spend €150-€200 on a wedding present.

A change of a dress

Over a third of those polled (38%) admit to always purchasing a new outfit for a wedding while a thrifty 22% say they tend to recycle something that’s already in their wardrobe. An image conscious 40% say that they’re more likely to buy a new outfit if they know that someone attending the wedding has already seen them wearing the outfit previously. 60% spend up to €150 on a new outfit while 17% say they spend €150-€200 while a further 9% claim to splash €200-€250.

Unsurprisingly weddings are most costly for women with 1 in 5 women polled saying they tend to get their hair and make-up done professionally for the big day while 40% say they just get their hair done. A price conscious 19% of women polled say they tend to do both themselves to save money.

An overnight stay

Almost a third (30%) say they always book into a hotel and B&B when attending a wedding and 45% of those staying over spend €100-€150 on accommodation. However, the majority only stay over for one night with 64% admitting to skipping the second night of celebrations. Almost half of people polled who have a partner (40%) say they tend to split all wedding costs 50:50.

The breakdown 

Gift                          €200

Dress                       €150

Hair & Make Up        €80

Accommodation      €150

Pocket Money         €150  {because not all weddings have open bars :) } 

Total                       €730 { multiply by the number of weddings you have to attend this year.... now breath} 

Pretty steep eh... 

What did you think it cost you to attend a wedding?

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Write by: Unknown - Friday, April 11, 2014