Five Cost-Saving Tips for Wedding Guests to Consider

By Julia K. Pham, CFP^®, AIF^®, CDFA^®, Wealth Advisor featured in Kiplinger 

Attending a wedding can get very expensive very fast, especially if you go out of town, so here are some considerations for keeping the cost in check.

Being a guest at a wedding can be a great time: good food, flowing drinks, dancing and memories made. As someone who has planned her own wedding and attended many weddings, I find it much less stressful both financially and emotionally to attend one vs planning your own. However, being a wedding guest isn’t without its financial considerations.

The cost of attending a wedding can vary widely depending on a number of factors, including who the wedding is for, the location of the wedding, whether travel is involved and the related events leading up to the big event.

In one study, the Knot reported that the average cost to attend a wedding last year in one’s hometown, where lodging and travel were unnecessary, was 0.

Once you add in travel and hotel for out-of-town weddings, the cost jumped dramatically to an average cost of $1,600.

Here are some aspects to consider as a wedding guest to help you plan, maintain good wedding-guest etiquette and keep your expenditures in check this wedding season.

1. Plan travel well in advance.

When it comes to destination weddings involving flights and hotels, you can get the best flight deals and secure better hotel rates by planning early. Both get increasingly expensive if you wait until the last minute to book. According to The Points Guy, on average, the best time to book a domestic flight is one to two months before your departure date.

Oftentimes with hotel rooms, a couple will secure a block of rooms for their guests at a discounted rate. Be sure to check the wedding invite to see if they have done so, and again — book early because these rooms are usually the first to go.

And don’t feel like you have to stay at one of the hotels recommended by the couple. Often, lower-cost options, including home rentals through Airbnb or Vrbo, are just as great and make it easier to split the cost of lodging with friends or family.

2. Plan for pre- and post-wedding events.

For those attending destination weddings, frequently there are pre-wedding events or cocktails and/or post-wedding brunches in the mix. With this in mind, be sure to account for those extra events and additional nights at the hotel in your budget. That alone could add hundreds or thousands to the cost of your trip.

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