As weddings become extended events, guests must pay larger and larger sums of money to honor the invitation. And the bill can quickly become steep.
You don’t have to be married yourself to feel like the wedding season has passed. Since the health crisis, the number of ceremonies has exploded. In 2022, INSEE counted 244,000 marriages in France, a record for ten years. Same enthusiasm in Belgium, where we celebrate nearly 40,000 each year. Behind the scenes, another trend is taking hold: guests are no longer content to bring a small gift and dance until dawn. They often have to pay for transport, accommodation, clothing, presents, additional activities… And sometimes even participate in financing the event. Result: attending a wedding can now cost as much, or more, than a weekend abroad.
These high amounts are partly explained by the internationalization of the ceremonies. It is no longer rare for newlyweds to organize their celebration abroad, in Marrakech, Greece or Dublin, requiring plane tickets and several nights there. For Emma, 29, interviewed by Le Figaro, it was a series of three weekends between Brittany, Corsica and Ireland which damaged her finances. “It’s becoming a bit nonsense,” she confides.
And the problem doesn’t end there. You also have to think about the outfit. On average, men pay 96 euros, women 99 euros. Added to this is the gift: 91 euros for men, 94 for women. And if you’re a bridesmaid, expect to have to finance makeup, hair, coordinated outfits and sometimes even part of the decor. For some, like Eva, cited by Yahoo! Life, the cup is full. Coming to Marrakech for a friend’s wedding, she says she was asked for a kitty in addition to all the costs incurred. “I was criticized for not having given enough. Since then, we haven’t spoken to each other”she laments. Indeed, in 2023, the Savoo site estimated the average cost of a wedding weekend at 912 euros. This figure rises to 936 euros for members of the procession, 1,159 euros if you participate in the hen or stag party, and reaches up to 2,097 euros for the bridesmaids.
A phenomenon which is accompanied by an overall rise in costs linked to the organization of weddings. In Belgium, according to the company AP Events, it costs around 18,000 euros for a “classic” ceremony. An amount up 20% since 2019 according to RTL Info and some providers are already announcing a further increase of 11% for the following year.
An inflation which inevitably affects the guests, who are increasingly asked to reduce the bride and groom’s bill. This is why the latter, also faced with skyrocketing prices, no longer hesitate to organize “participatory” weddings, where everyone pays their share, or even more.
