Hellobee Boards Topic: The growing cost of attending a wedding

Hellobee Boards Topic: The growing cost of attending a wedding https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 20 May 2026 04:52:27 +0000 simplyfelicity on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2208068 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 17:06:01 +0000 simplyfelicity 2208068@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Wow! I probably spend $500 if I am actually in the wedding and $100-$150 if I am a guest. I don't think of myself as cheap, but the weddings I go to are usually less formal affairs. BSB on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2208062 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 16:58:02 +0000 BSB 2208062@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We usually give between $150-200 cash for the wedding gift. If I was invited to the shower, I'll buy something in the $70-100 range. I don't count this towards their gift but I have travel costs to consider since we usually have to pay to fly back east. That will cost us between $300-600. Mrs.ThinMint on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2208039 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 16:20:00 +0000 Mrs.ThinMint 2208039@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I'm in a wedding in a couple of weeks and I've already spent over $600 not counting a wedding gift. It's not a destination wedding, but we do have to get a hotel for 1 night. Luckily, it's in my hometown, so we don't have to pay for a babysitter. lawbee11 on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2208034 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 16:03:38 +0000 lawbee11 2208034@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I've only been to one wedding this year (I was a bridesmaid). Between the dress, destination bachelorette party, and two showers I easily spent $1500+. cat620 on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2208028 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 15:35:32 +0000 cat620 2208028@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think it depends on if you're in the bridal party or not, and if they wedding is out of town or in town. I just went to a wedding this weekend, and in addition a gift, we had to drive 2 hours to get there, spent $200 on a hotel room, and had to eat out for lunch and breakfast the next day. That wedding probably cost us about $400 to attend. My husband is a groomsman in an upcoming wedding, and we have to spend way more for that one. Just the bachelor party alone will be over $1,000, since it's in Vegas. My husband is using our credit card points to purchase plane tickets, but he said they would have been $800 if he had to purchase them out of pocket! That's crazy!! ShootingStar on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2208006 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 14:44:47 +0000 ShootingStar 2208006@https://boards.hellobee.com/ IDK, I don't know anyone who's had a fancy engagement party or a destination bachelorette. We had a casual party for our engagement, but it didn't cost anyone anything. Most of our friends are married now, and in the past we usually spend $150-$200 on the gift, and then a couple hundred on the bachelor party or $50-$100 on the shower gift. But for some couples we haven't gone to anything other than the wedding itself, and we've never had to pay for both the bachelor party and the shower. We do have a destination wedding coming up at some point (date TBD) that I'm a little worried about. The bride isn't sure where it will be, but knows it'll be a destination somewhere due to family on different continents. I think Hawaii is the front runner right now. DH is a groomsman and DS will be the flower boy. And she and her FI came from China to the US for our wedding, so we kinda need to make it happen. Bao on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2208002 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 14:40:05 +0000 Bao 2208002@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Holy crap. We spend MAYBE $100 per wedding which includes absolutely everything. The average people give for a wedding gift around here is $50 though. We've never had to travel for a wedding and unfortunately haven't been able to attend some showers/bachelor(ette) parties so I guess we save there. Mrs. Jacks on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207997 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 14:17:54 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 2207997@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My last two weddings cost $2500 in travel alone. It's ok, I think it's important to celebrate with people. I think when you are IN the wedding it starts getting a little crazy... lemondrop on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207994 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 13:57:10 +0000 lemondrop 2207994@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think much of it depends on the style of wedding the couple is having. The only super formal wedding I've been to is my SIL, but she's also a wedding planner. Ours was extremely casual, and while many people traveled, we tried to make it fun and relaxed. Unless it's family or someone really close, we usually limit it to 1-2 a year because of the costs and arrangements to make. Fortunately we were one of the last of our friends/family to be married. We are going to a wedding across the country later this summer for a close co-worker, but we are also making a vacation out of it. So while there are travel costs, they aren't entirely dedicated to the wedding. Besides clothes, we are gifting toward their honeymoon, so those are the main costs. These days we only do kid-friendly weddings, so no costs for sitters either. Ginabean3 on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207987 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 13:31:16 +0000 Ginabean3 2207987@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Most of our friends are married and we only have one wedding on the horizon to attend next Jan (my best friend's!). It's a destination wedding though and the first time we will be going to a wedding and taking the kids (DD#1 is a flower girl and I'll still be nursing DD #2). We are going to bring my mom to help. It will be some money output.....but I'm happy to do it because she's my best friend and has done so much for me! Mrs. Lemon-Lime on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207985 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 13:21:42 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2207985@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I'm so happy wedding season (no more engaged friends) is over because they are costly!! The last wedding we attended required an overnight stay (lodging + food + gas) and a wedding gift. Getting dressed for a wedding is an extra expense sometimes- appropriate outfit, hair and nails. ALV91711 on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207978 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 12:55:32 +0000 ALV91711 2207978@https://boards.hellobee.com/ This makes me glad I don't have too many friends and most of the ones I do have are married. Any weddings I've gone to in the last couple years have been expensive but only because of having to fly back home for them. If you take that out of the equation it is not too bad. My sister gets married this fall and again will be expensive because of the flight. The only really expense other than the flight though will be a babysitter and gift. Trailmix on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207968 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 12:37:39 +0000 Trailmix 2207968@https://boards.hellobee.com/ The majority of the weddings I have been invited to, I did not go to showers, bachelorettes, rehearsal dinner, etc. Plus, you don't give a gift at the rehearsal dinner, even if you are invited! But when you add in travel, babysitting, car rental, hotel, etc, plus $150-$200 for a gift, weddings are expensive. I don't mind tho, I love attending them! catlady on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207965 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 12:33:11 +0000 catlady 2207965@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We often have to travel far for weddings so they add up fast. The next one we have coming up will probably end up costing us over 2k total for flights, hotel, gift, food while we're there, and so on. Luckily we are in our mid-30s so most of our friends are married at this point. MOMTOLITTLEB on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207894 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 10:13:21 +0000 MOMTOLITTLEB 2207894@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My sister is 28 and very popular. I don't even want to know how much she spends on weddings and wedding related stuff. Her friends are fancy too, these Bachelorette parties are taking place across the country or on an island somewhere. I couldn't do it! We do have two weddings coming up that we have to travel to so it'll be expensive but we're close to the people getting married. Mrs. Oatmeal on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207837 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 08:01:07 +0000 Mrs. Oatmeal 2207837@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Most of our friends are married and have been for awhile, so I don't see this trend. However, my sister is getting married and I'm MOH. I'm in about $300 so far with my dress and her shower, and am making her cake, getting hair and nails done, getting a wedding gift and buying LO's flower girl outfit. There was no bachelorette or buck and doe, and minimal costs for an engagement party. Smurfette on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207818 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 07:18:45 +0000 Smurfette 2207818@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We are going to Mexico in Nov for my good friends wedding. $2K ( 5 days 4 nights) the hotel, all inclusive, plus flights. Luckily we have miles to cover those. I am a bridesmaid so between throwing a shower, bachelorette weekend, dress, and gift for shower, $1K easily. They told everyone they don't want wedding gifts, since we are traveling and spending so much to get there. Anagram on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207817 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 07:17:01 +0000 Anagram 2207817@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Well i posted recently about the ONE destination wedding i attended recently that ended up costing us over 2500. All i can say is....never again. At least not under similar circumstances. Corduroy on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207815 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 07:16:35 +0000 Corduroy 2207815@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think travel makes up the vast majority of the cost for a typical guest. It's hard to pin that on the bride and groom unless it's a destination wedding. I haven't felt pressured to attend any long distance showers or engagement parties. My friends are just scaling up the bachelorette parties to bachelor destination weekend level. I've been pregnant and having babies the last three years so I've had any easy out. I'd like to go in theory but not pregnant or BFing. Mrs. Champagne on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207814 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 07:15:33 +0000 Mrs. Champagne 2207814@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We are going to one in August for a good friend. We aren't in the wedding party. We will gift $250 Send a gift to the shower for around $50 Bachelorette will be around $100 (I'm hoping to skip now that I'm pregnant) Mini bachelorette this weekend (small group) is costing around $100. Mama Bird on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207811 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 07:03:47 +0000 Mama Bird 2207811@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Oh wow... No, all the weddings I've attended just consisted of the wedding, no extra parties on top. I don't think anyone complained :happy: avivoca on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207809 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 07:02:26 +0000 avivoca 2207809@https://boards.hellobee.com/ That seems insanely expensive, but maybe my friends just don't do things like that. I've never paid more than $500 to attend a wedding, and that includes travel, lodging, and gifts. travelgirl1 on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207804 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 06:52:22 +0000 travelgirl1 2207804@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I thought that was a low estimate! Usually when we have a wedding to attend, it's an international flight costing a few grand, plus cost of outfits, plus drinks at the wedding (weddings in England rarely include an open bar), taxis or cost of hotel room for the night..... Foodnerd81 on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207790 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 06:23:47 +0000 Foodnerd81 2207790@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I just spent probably $800 to attend a wedding without DH, where I didn't even have that much fun! I had to drive 4.5 hours each way, plus tolls, two nights hotel (could have only stayed one night but I needed a place to leave C with the babysitter during the day time wedding), gift, and 8 hours with a babysitter. And DH couldn't even come! (He was invited, just a schedule conflict). But t was my aunt who would do anything for me so I had to go. For most friends I would have just skipped it- it was a ton of work! Luckily most of our friends got married by the time we had a baby. Back then we were more flexible about travel and where to stay and such. And it's rare, but not totally unheard of, that I would have to attend so many events. blackbird on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207773 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 05:35:13 +0000 blackbird 2207773@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Sometimes we bow out of weddings because we don't want to incur a babysitters cost, lol. Nearly all our close friends are married lamariniere on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207761 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 02:37:23 +0000 lamariniere 2207761@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I don't have a lot of friends who get married, but this summer we are going to a wedding for my best friend from college. It's a looooong international flight for us and tickets are upwards of $4500 (3 tickets plus lap child) and the hotel + car rental for the time we will be there will probably be around $900. I'm also going to give a cash gift. It's going to be a huuuuge expense. But she's one of the few friends I would drop that kind of money for. We are going to combine the trip with vacation and visiting family. dc yoga bee on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207752 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 01:40:58 +0000 dc yoga bee 2207752@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I was in my friend's wedding two summers ago, and it cost me $2000. I had told my own bridesmaids I didn't want the costs getting out of control, and to let me know if they went over $500 I would split the difference with them. We were all in grad school still. I told the bride up front I didn't have thousands of dollars to commit since I had just taken the bar, and was still waiting on job/results. She said, "oh no problem!" Ugh, yeah right lol. As a guest not in the wedding party, but still invited to the festivities I can easily spend $300+, and that's if I were still living in my hometown. Now, we have to add $300-$500 plane tickets to that :/ Aandmklover on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207751 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 01:38:22 +0000 Aandmklover 2207751@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I can see that being accurate. Engagement party = a gift Shower = a gift Bachelorette party = a gift plus any other expenses included bachelor party = normally guys don't do a traditional gift but they still go out or OOT Wedding = typically a monetary gift (at least $100) That's as a guest not being in the wedding party. Mrs. High Heels on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207741 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 01:05:55 +0000 Mrs. High Heels 2207741@https://boards.hellobee.com/ On average, we spend about $150-200 per wedding for the cost of the gift. We want to at least cover our meal per person. We've rarely had to travel for weddings. When we've been in bridal parties though... it has gotten really expensive. I'd say over $1000 if you consider the cost of throwing the bridal shower, doing the 2-3 day bachelorette party thing, in addition to a wedding gift. Boogs on "The growing cost of attending a wedding" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-growing-cost-of-attending-a-wedding#post-2207739 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 00:59:41 +0000 Boogs 2207739@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We have one coming up. We are already in $270+ (bridal shower gift, wedding gift, hotel since it's OOT), and we might need to make a couple of clothing item purchases for ourselves. Weddings are never cheap.