Guests Scramble to Afford the Cost of Attending Weddings
Lots of people get choke up at weddings, but this year, people might be crying over more than just the sight of the happy couple.
The American Express Spending & Saving Tracker found that this year, the average American will attend three weddings and spend an average of $703 per event. That’s a 5% jump over last year, when the average outlay per wedding was $673. Young people spend the most on weddings, with an average cost of $893 to attend their friends’ big day. In contrast, the general population spends 27% less per wedding.
Why so expensive? One big factor is whether you’re in the wedding party or not. If you’re a bridesmaid or groomsman, you can expect to shell out an average of $743—up from $701 in 2015. Millennials in the wedding party are spending an average of $928, the highest of any demographic.
Besides that, there’s airfare to get to the wedding (an average cost of $205), a snazzy new outfit to wear ($166), childcare or pet sitting ($69), and a gift ($127 for a relative, $99 for a friend).
Gifts add up
When buying a gift, 37% of guests choose something off the wedding registry. Thirty-one percent give the couple cash, perhaps for a honeymoon or a down payment on a home, and 13% give a gift card. When buying for a relative, they spend an average of $28 more than for a friend. That represents a shrinking in the gap between spending on a friend and spending on family; last year the gulf was wider, at 58% vs. 28% difference in 2015.
Who pays for what, and how they cut costs
The days of dad paying for the whole wedding are mostly in the past; 53% of folks fund their own weddings these days, either with cash, or credit and debit cards. Just over one-third of couples (35%) get help from their parents—the bride or groom’s family.
To save money, couples are doing the following:
• Having a courthouse wedding, or keeping the ceremony and reception very small
• Not hiring a wedding planner
• Choosing a cheaper wedding venue
• Doing a DIY project, such as a wedding album, centerpiece, or guest favors
The American Express Spending & Saving Tracker was conducted online and included responses from 1800 adults in the United States, including an affluent demographic with a minimum household income of $100,000. Interviews were done in February 2015.
Latest Good Credit Credit Cards News
As summer approaches, Wells Fargo introduced a new travel credit card with great cashback rates across several categories to compete with big travel rewards players like Chase, Amex and Citi. The card is supposed to be a higher-tier version of the existing Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card launched in 2022. The new Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ […]
At the moment, COVID-19 still remains the burning issue of the day. In this regard, food delivery from restaurants is more in demand than ever. One of the largest credit card issuers, Capital One, understands this and therefore offers its customers the opportunity to get additional bonuses on food delivery. To be more precise, now […]
It’s not a secret that when the coronavirus started to spread rapidly throughout the world, most countries closed the borders forcing companies working in the travel sphere, including airlines, hotels, etc., to suspend their work. People had to postpone their trips and stay at home until the end of the pandemic. Therefore, redeeming accumulated credit […]
Barclays, one of the largest UK banks, has just introduced its Q4 2019 earnings report. In a nutshell, it indicates the main year results in different spheres. To a large extent, the statistics concern the UK department. However, there is something interesting about its associate in the USA. The report says that Barclays International “Established […]
Yesterday Venmo, a service owned by PayPal, that allows their account holders to transfer funds to others via their mobile phone app, announced its new credit card. The credit card will be issued by Synchrony Financial whose partnership with PayPal has earlier brought us the PayPal Extras Mastercard and the PayPal Cashback Mastercard. According to […]
