Why everyone’s talking about: the cost of weddings

Weddings are becoming a burden for millennials who are struggling with the expense of increasingly costly celebrations.

One in seven guests will fork out more than £400 to attend a wedding this summer, and some will pay up to £1,000 to join in the celebrations, says The Times.

One in three millennials get themselves in debt in an effort to attend friends’ weddings, while one in four admitted they had missed rent payments or failed to cover their bills to cover the costs, according to a survey of renters by Spareroom.co.uk.

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With a 2017 report from Office for National Statistics finding that the average UK renter was paying 27% of their gross salary to their landlord in 2016 - and Londoners paying 49% - it’s no surprise that Generation Rent is starting to dodge expensive weddings.

A third of those questioned by SpareRoom.co.uk admitted turning down wedding invitations, and 20% said they had fallen out with friends over the cost of attending.

An American Express study earlier this year found that wedding guests spend an average of £391. That’s nearly a third more than last year, according to the Evening Standard.

Why are weddings so expensive for guests?

The Amex wedding study breaks down the £391 average wedding cost for guests in order of expense: hotel (£72), outfit (£68), gift (£66), hen/stag (£58), travel (£57), drinks (£45), hair and beauty (£25).

The cost is partly down to the growing numbers of couples getting hitched overseas, which can reduce their costs but shifts the burden on to their guests.

A 2018 report by tourism company Kuoni revealed that the average spend on a foreign wedding destination is £7,500, compared to more than £27,000 in the UK.

But while tying the knot in your favourite holiday destination might not break the bank of the happy couple, it increases the costs of travel for invitees.

A study by Hotels.com found that the cost of attending a wedding overseas was significantly more than attending one in the UK. Guests at overseas weddings had to fork out an average £2,050 to cover the extra flights, hotels, insurance and luggage, reports The Independent.

What about stag and hen dos?

Research from Hotels.com said that 80% of people think the cost of a typical do is “staggering” - hardly surprising when their study revealed the average UK stag or hen do costs £464.

And the cost more than doubles for pre-wedding bashes abroad, which costs stags and hens an average of £998, says the Independent.

Around one third of guests say they’ve cancelled holiday plans, socialising with friends, and buying new clothes in order to save up for prenuptial send-offs.

That’s in addition to the ten hours that stag and hen do organisers have to put into the events.

The Hotels study also showed what 29% of invitees had refused to attend a stag or hen do because of the massive costs.

Johan Svanstrom, president of Hotels.com, said: “Stag and hen dos are a great way to celebrate with friends and maybe some family - either at home or abroad. But we’d encourage everyone to do a bit of research to avoid the ‘been there done that’ feeling and the rising cost”.

Are wedding couples paying more too?

The average cost of a wedding in the UK this year is £31,974, 54% higher than £20,799 in 2014 – and the main reason for the price hike is social media pressure according to Hitched’s National Wedding Survey 2019.

According to the survey, 42% of the 2,800 couples asked said they felt “under pressure” to have an “instaworthy” wedding, and spent 30% over their budget to make it happen.

Sarah Allard, editor of Hitched, says: “With Instagram becoming an increasing part of our day to day lives, it’s no surprise that we’re seeing our wedding planning couples – many of them millennials who have grown up with social media – looking to the platform to help inspire their day.”

Londoners have to fork out most for their weddings, with the average couple spending spending £39,763 to get married in the capital.

Couples in the South West get the best deal, with an average wedding cost coming in at £27,958.