Grab Your Checkbook…And Be Our Guest!
So you’re invited to a wedding! Everybody gets excited about a wedding. The bride and groom for sure, their family and certainly their friends. Gearing up for the big day involves everyone. And there are many decisions that have to be made by the couple and their families-–the venue, the caterer, the invitations, the pre-wedding celebrations–all of which cost money. However the bride and groom aren’t the only ones bracing themselves for additional expenses.
With most weddings, whether large or intimate, money is spent even before the invitations are mailed and continue until the last guest leaves. Ah, the guests. Ever think about what attending a wedding is costing them?
To attend a wedding, everyone involved spends along the way–there are engagement parties, showers, bachelor and bachelorette parties, dinners, rehearsals, etc. In preparation for these events that culminate in the big day we often buy a new outfit, get our hair done, pick up that perfect pair of new earrings, and get fresh manicures. While one expects that of close family members and the bridal party, this is also standard practice for guests–the people that have been invited to celebrate AS a guest, but technically are happily and innocently spending lots of money to BE a guest.
Next time you’re at a wedding, take a good look around you. Instead of wondering what the bride’s parents (or the couple) spent on the cake, dress, flowers and reception, think of it in a different way–think about the amount of money that each of the guests has spent along the way and the expenses they’ve incurred to be present on the big day. If one goes to several weddings a year–being a guest can really add up. And we’re not even talking about the higher costs for airfare, hotels and rental cars associated with destination weddings that leave no room in one’s budget for the perfect wedding gift.
While most people enjoy attending weddings, once there, they can’t help but do a little “spending analysis”–whether sitting in the audience, standing up as a part of the wedding party, or eating their choice of chicken or fish at the reception. Surely even you have glanced around and wondered, “What is all this costing them?”
Well it might be a good idea to turn that mirror around and examine what it cost you to attend that wedding. Statistics show that the average American spends close to a thousand dollars a year on weddings, not including gifts. Check out the rest of the research below–you might be a little surprised!