Wedding season is nearly upon us.
Becky and I spent some time on Saturday afternoon choosing wedding rings ahead of our own nuptials in August.
And yesterday afternoon we met up with friends and talked about their own wedding plans for next year, with their wedding taking place in Romania.
Some new research from American Express has found that UK wedding guests will spend an average of £640 per wedding they attend this year. This is up from £470 last year.
More than a third (36%) of UK adults are planning to attend one or more weddings this year, according to the research.
The biggest expense for wedding guests is accommodation at an average of £114. This is closely followed by presents (£112) and purchasing a new outfit (£105).
It was interesting to read in the survey results how wedding guests are finding ways to reduce costs.
Around half of wedding guests use offers such as hotel deals (52%) or retail sales (48%) to make it easier on their wallet, while a quarter (25%) save up or dip into savings (23%).
However, almost a third (30%) of guests will turn down invitations and miss out on seeing friends and family tie the knot this year as the cost is too steep. This is worth noting if you are planning a wedding and want to ensure it is well attended by those you love; consider how much attending as a guest will cost them!
Couples can help guests keep expenditure down by choosing a local venue (the majority of guests (63%) will turn down a wedding abroad due to cost alone), planning an inexpensive stag or hen do, or telling their guests not to purchase gifts.
Despite these ideas for reducing costs, more than a fifth (21%) of couples to be admit they don’t consider the cost for guests when planning their nuptials.
How much will you spend on attending weddings this year?
