Exclusive: almost one in three guests take on debt to attend wedding celebrations

Are brides and grooms pushing their loved ones to the financial brink?

Who doesn’t love a wedding? A day celebrating love, getting fed and watered, and a chance to let your hair down with your nearest and dearest.

But what we don’t love – and what’s been creeping up over the last few years – is the cost to family and friends who’ve been invited.

And these days, we’re not just talking about dusting off your best dress and showing up for the wedding day in your town. 

Oh no. Instead, we’ve seen a rise in weddings abroad (which is often paired with a ‘low key’ registry office wedding, too) plus hen and stag parties (where you can expect a plethora of planned activities), which can also be overseas. 

And if you’re invited to multiple celebrations in a year, you could be looking at spending thousands of pounds to attend, once you’ve factored in costs like transport, accommodation, childcare and maybe an outfit – plus all the rest!

Exclusive research by Be Clever With Your Cash reveals the true cost of being a wedding guest and the worrying financial consequences of attending.

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How much are we paying to attend wedding celebrations?

Hold on to your hats, because we’re forking out hundreds of pounds to be guests at weddings and the hen and stag do.

We asked respondents to think about all of their costs and this included (but isn’t limited to): flights, accommodation, gifts, activities, food, drink, clothes, costumes, decorations.

If you’re going to a destination wedding, our research suggests the average cost is £549.40 per guest. As you’d imagine, the average cost of attending a UK wedding is slightly less but it’s still £337.30, on average.

Then, we’ve got the stag or hen do. Abroad you’re looking at an average cost of £502.90 per person.

This is about 30% more expensive than the average cost of a UK-based celebration, which is around £380. However, how much you pay will depend on where you’re going, what you’re doing and how long you’re staying for. 

If there are a load of activities planned, like a spa day, cocktail making or Beyonce dance class (or maybe all three), you’re looking at spending hundreds of pounds before you’ve even considered travel and food.

And our research suggests the costs are even higher for younger people. One in seven (14%) 18 – 34 year olds told us they have spent more than £1,000 to attend a hen or stag do. 

Wedding guest debts

So how are people paying for these celebrations? 

Well, nearly a third (29%) of wedding guests have taken out credit, including credit cards, overdrafts and loans, to ensure they can go to a hen or stag dos as well as the big day itself, in the past two years. And of these people, almost half (47%) have used the credit to fund over half of the cost of the trip.

This suggests that many people likely can’t afford to attend but are going to, come hell or high water. 

Using credit to pay for something isn’t necessarily a bad thing – as long as you’ve got a plan to repay it. But it’s risky business if you take on debt you can’t afford as you could end up paying more for it and damaging your credit rating if you miss repayments. 

Our research reveals  that 14% of wedding guests said they have acquired or worsened their debt through attending someone else’s wedding celebration – and that’s worrying.

Others told us they paid for to attend weddings and stag dos using money they already have in a current account (46%), they saved up specifically for the event (23%) or they dipped into their savings they already had earmarked for something else (17%).

Many of us are also sacrificing our own holidays in favour of our loved ones’ nuptials. One in five (20%) of those who attended an overseas celebration say they’re spending more on this, at the expense of their own trips as the high costs are massively reducing what they have to spend on going away themselves. 

Saying no

You don’t have to go to events you can’t afford – although it can be difficult to say no. 

As many as 35% of people have declined an invitation to an overseas wedding celebration in the past two years because the event would be too expensive. This rises to 40% for 35-54 year olds, suggesting that older generations may be more particular about how they spend their money or less worried about saying no.

And plenty of people told us they aren’t happy to be forking out this much on other people’s celebrations as nearly one in five (19%) think couples expect their guests to spend too much money on their wedding.