Guests spend £613 per wedding on average (MaPS). Where the money goes, what gift is normal, and worked examples for a UK wedding and one in the Algarve, every figure sourced.
Wedding guests now spend £613 on average per wedding, down 11% from £692 a year earlier, according to the government-backed Money and Pensions Service. One in three people have turned down a wedding event, such as a hen or stag do, because of the cost. Below: where the money goes, what a gift should be, and two worked examples.
| Spend per wedding | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Travel and accommodation | £147 | £146 |
| New clothes and accessories | £136 | £122 |
| Gift | £117 | £106 |
| Stag or hen events | £61 | £64 |
| Food and drink at the wedding | £63 | £44 |
| Pre-wedding events | £52 | £39 |
| Hair and beauty | £40 | £38 |
| Other (night-before drinks, childcare, pet sitting) | £76 | £55 |
| Total | £692 | £613 |
Guests went to just under two weddings in the last year, so the annual bill is about £1,200. Bridal-party members pay far more: £806 per wedding against £510 for other guests.
| Finding | Source |
|---|---|
| £348 per wedding on average (London £420); 72%+ say weddings have become a financial burden | The Insurance Emporium/Censuswide, 2,000 recent guests, Nov 2025 |
| 38% turned down a wedding abroad in the past year, up from 29% | Experian/Censuswide, 2,000 adults, May 2026 |
| 25% plan to rent their outfit, up from 11% | Experian/Censuswide, May 2026 |
| Right gift: £76–100 for a close couple, £26–50 for others (median answers) | YouGov, 1,784 adults, Aug 2026 |
| Couples spend £272 per guest to host | Hitched, 2,020 couples married in 2025 |
| Item | Working | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Gift | Top of YouGov's close-couple band | £100.00 |
| Partner A: new dress and heels | £77.42 + £68.72 (ONS averages) | £146.14 |
| Partner B: new shirt and tie, existing suit | £43.28 + £24.64 (ONS averages) | £67.92 |
| Hotel, one night | Assumption: £103 (Experian 2024 average) | £103.00 |
| Fuel, 200-mile round trip at 45 mpg | 20.2 litres × 174.07p | £35.17 |
| Bar: 4 glasses of wine + 4 pints | 4 × £5.93 + 4 × £5.75 | £46.72 |
| Total for the couple | £498.95 | |
| Each | £249.48 |
| Item | Working | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Flights Manchester–Faro, Thu 8 to Sun 11 July 2027 | Lowest Ryanair fares seen, no hold bag | £146.08 |
| 3 nights in a villa shared by 8 guests | £3,803 a week ÷ 7 ÷ 8 × 3 | £203.73 |
| Tourist tax | €2 a night × 3 | £5.01 |
| Food and drink on the 2 days off | 2 × £35.73 at Algarve prices | £71.46 |
| New dress and heels | ONS averages | £146.14 |
| Gift | £100.00 | |
| Total | £672.42 |
Start a free group on EvenRound for the hen do, the villa or the group gift: guests join from a link without signing up, and the settle-up plan tells everyone who pays whom. See also our stag and hen cost report.
Figures checked 30 October 2026. Free to quote with a link to this page. More in our cost reports.
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