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As wedding season continues through the summer and fall, the arrival of an RSVP envelope in your mailbox may elicit plenty of joy and maybe, for some, just a hint of a groan. That's because the cost of attending multiple weddings quickly adds up. Now the exact price of attending a wedding has been quantified in a new study from The Knot, confirming what many of us already knew in our guts—being a wedding guest is expensive.
According to a 2018 survey of more than 1,300 wedding guests, The Knot, a wedding-planning platform, calculated the average attendee from out of town pays just over $900 for travel, accommodations, a gift to the newlyweds, as well as proper attire and accessories for the day itself. But that number can balloon drastically depending on your individual circumstances, so take a look at a breakdown of the expenses below to get a rough idea of how much you'll shell out to watch your friends (or even just a former sorority sister you never liked that much) say "I do."
Are you traveling from out of town?
The good news is if you happen to live in the same city as the wedding's venue, you just dodged the biggest, most expensive bullet out there. Guests not in the wedding party who have to book a hotel, Airbnb or other lodgings pay an average of $234 each wedding. Of course, they have to get to their destination first, which costs an average of $303 per trip. If you're a member of the wedding party, chances are you'll spend a little less on accommodations ($212) but pay basically the same for travel ($308).
How next-level is your wedding attire?
The next biggest expense for most wedding guests are the clothes and accessories needed to make sure you look just as special as the occasion you're celebrating. Non-wedding party guests spend an average of $98 on clothes alone, with an additional $64 for the little extras, such as a nice new tie or the perfect pair of shoes to match your new dress.
Members of the wedding party, who normally find themselves on display during the ceremony, naturally spend more on making sure they look good while standing next to the main attractions, the happy couple. The average wedding party guest spends $160 on clothes and $64 on accessories to guarantee they will look just as good in the wedding photos and, let’s not forget, on social media.
How giving do you feel?
On top of spending money on wedding travel and looking your best, there’s the gift for the couple. Wedding gifts can range from the wildly extravagant to the modest, do-it-yourself project, but the study revealed guests spend an average of $88 for the wedding day gift (or $107 if you're a member of the wedding party). A third of guests (34%) purchase something from the couple's registry, which means they’re either buying a kitchen appliance or a cleaning appliance, according to the five most popular items that appear on registries this summer listed below (with their estimated price ranges):
- Ninja blender $30-$180
- Air fryer $30-$300
- Dyson vacuum $180-$700
- KitchenAid Stand mixer $200-$380
- IRobot Roomba $210-$800
Clearly most of the more popular gifts exceed the average cost a guest spends, but that's the price for getting the couple a red-hot item from their registry. And if it's any consolation, no gift you buy will likely compare to the mind-boggling (and wallet-busting) amount the average couple spends on their wedding. Just remember you're there to celebrate a happy occasion and make sure you have a good enough time to justify the cost of attendance
The article, How Much Will It Cost You to Attend a Wedding This Season? , originally appeared on ValuePenguin .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
