How Much Did You Spend on Weddings in 2008?

December 3, 2008

When you add up engagement and shower gifts, bachelorette weekends, wedding gifts, event-related travel, and corresponding attire, one thing is clear: Weddings are pricey celebrations. It makes me a little nauseous when I think about how much money I spent on weddings this year, especially when I calculate the amount as a percentage of my annual income. How much did you spend this year in the name of other people's love?

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41 Comments

kia 4 years 23 weeks

>$5K, but I got married this year and love how we spent our budget. No regrets!

wambalus 4 years 23 weeks

I flat out put my foot down and said I wouldn't be going to any more weddings. I never enjoy them, the bride & groom don't really notice if I'm there, and it costs a fortune to attend. No thank you. I'm all ready to congratulate you, let's just remember some of us can't even afford to attend, much less throw, a wedding.

booglass 4 years 23 weeks

We live outside the US and had to fly back for my BIL's wedding. The cost of tickets, a hotel, gift, clothing for the event, tux rental for my hubby in the wedding party, etc all added up. But we wouldn't have missed it for the world, no matter the cost.

Spectra 4 years 23 weeks

I didn't have any weddings to go to this year, but next year I've got to attend two of them. My husband will be one of the groomsmen for one of the weddings, so we'll have to rent a tux for that and buy a pretty decent present for the couple. I remember my wedding...I got married in 2005 and I think we spent just under $5K. Most of the money went towards the food, which has got to be the biggest ripoff in wedding costs. Seriously, where do they get off charging $20 a plate for a tiny little chicken breast with a couple of green beans and a puny salad? Thank goodness I had a really awesome cake, otherwise everyone probably would've starved. If I could do it over, I'd just rent a big area for the reception and get my family/friends to cook a variety of dishes to serve potluck style. A little less formal, but probably would've been a lot more fun!

jj0604 4 years 24 weeks

this is something that i try not to think about to much since i had my wedding this past Oct., but with mine and others i spent close to (if not over) 30K....

simplyfab87 4 years 24 weeks

$0, I'm a senior in college. No one is married yet but I know that will all change in the next couple years.

sonya ina 4 years 24 weeks

$1-$100 should be an option, because I went to 1 wedding and spent about $75.

brandi07 4 years 24 weeks

Nothing this year, but I am getting married next year!

GlowingMoon 4 years 24 weeks

Nothing this year, thank goodness. However, I will be a matron of honor next year, and I plan to be generous, so most likely, I would be spending some serious cash. I will be helping the economy. :)

ErinAeSook 4 years 24 weeks

My best friend just asked me to be in her wedding and I've never been in one. I wonder how much I am going to end up spending!

Mesayme 4 years 24 weeks

Oops.. *he= my ex. We're already divorced and he got remarried last spring. The divorce cost WAY more than the marriage :D But this has me thinking...I sure hope no one gets married and ask me next year! That mess is expensive!

SusanTeufel 4 years 24 weeks

I got married this year, so, a lot. My maid of honor spent about 120 on a dress, and she had to get a plane ticket to be here, so... I was forever grateful to have her come. (I had one bridesmaid and my husband had his best man) Our wedding cost about 8,000. My husband, Best man, and the ring bearer wore zoot suits (They were so cute. My dress fit exactly, so no alterations needed. Bought it off the rack for $500. Was a steal! My wedding was beautiful. I didn't attend any others, though my maid of honor is getting married next year and I am matron of honor :)

erocka 4 years 24 weeks

3k easy this year. I spent over 2k on ONE wedding. I was a bridesmaid - between engagement party (which was like a wedding), bridal shower, bachelorette party, the dress/alterations (which was 250 bucks and completely non-wearable),the shoes (had to be a certain color), the hair (she made us wear it all up), the makeup, the gifts, travel... Funny thing is, she was so ungrateful that I barely speak to her anymore. In addition to that train wreck, I was invited to 5 others weddings (attended 4). I would figure 1k total between travel and gifts. I already have 4 weddings next year, one of which I am in. Round 2.

LoveSarah 4 years 24 weeks

Luckily I don't know anyone that got married this year. Well, that's not true, my friend did get married, but she just went to the court house, so I wasn't about to fly from FL to TX to sit in a courtroom! Luckily I am still at that age (20) where we are all a little too young to get married. When I am like 25 though, I can only imagine how much I will spend!

starangel82 4 years 24 weeks

$0 most of my friends have already tied the knot or aren't getting married anytime soon. Now if you had asked me this question in 2006... probably $1-2k. I was in 3 weddings and went to 5.

Kimpossible 4 years 24 weeks

We had one wedding invitation this year and while we could not attend, we sent a gift - a place setting of their China pattern.

hippiecowgirl 4 years 24 weeks

I voted based on the "other people's love" so I didn't include the cost of my own wedding this past March. Big difference with that or without. :)

Angela123 4 years 24 weeks

no weddings this year! don't ask me next year though..myself and both my college roommates are getting married next year. Ouch!

sorrowja 4 years 24 weeks

Well I got married in March and racked up a bill of about a good 13k. One of my hubby's good friend also got married in FL and it cost us about another $500 to $600 (Airfare/hotel/rent-a-car, gas, food, my dress). So we are way over the max with wedding spending.

laluna 4 years 24 weeks

I only had my cousins wedding this year. I only ended up spending $100 on the gift. My other cousin found me an outfit when she was shopping in another town, got it for me and refused to let me pay her. I drove the 4 hours there with my sisters and parents and they paid for the fuel. Finally i'm the carer for my grandmother and was sharing a hotel room with her so my uncles paid for that!

PiNkY PiNk 4 years 24 weeks

nothing. I don't know anybody who got married this year. the only wedding I want to spend money for is my own and that won't be happening until several years.

kscincotta 4 years 24 weeks

We traveled to three different states for three different weddings (which should have been four, but we got cut from one guest list for cost reasons, which I guess I understand), plus a trip for a bachelorette party/bridal shower (both of which I helped throw), plus hotels and gifts, including $300 Red Sox - Yankees tickets for a game that got rained out... ugh. SO. MUCH. MONEY. And I already have four weddings lined up for next year, AT LEAST. No wonder I'm broke.

jesssa 4 years 24 weeks

my sister got married in june, i spent a few hundred bucks on my dress, shoes, mani/pedi, gift and tip for the bartender

allesethomson 4 years 24 weeks

So, I got married this past October and I'd say my bridesmaids spent about $600-800 each. This may seem like a lot but I actually worked really hard to keep cost down. My bachelorette was at friends cabin in Tahoe, so the cost were just food, gas (most of us were in the California Bay Area- San Francisco), and of course lots of alcohol. My now husband and I picked up the hotel rooms (2 of them) for the wedding as a thank you. However, we did ask that they share (3 girls to a room with two king sized beds). My bridesmaids dresses were a bit on pricey side ($275 each) but they were gorgeous and looked amazing on all of them. All the girls said they could wear them again. And, though brand names shouldn't be hugely important, they were Vera Wang dresses. Still, I got a lot of flack from my bridesmaids about money and the whole subject was really stressful for me. After being a bride, I feel like I will be the most gracious, kind, courteous bridesmaid ever!

margokhal 4 years 24 weeks

$0. Even though everybody I know is getting married, I'm not close enough friends with them [or good-looking enough, I guess] to be in the wedding party. That's fine though - less money spent on horrid bridesmaid's things! All the weddings I've gone to this year have been for family, so my dad takes care of buying presents to represent our nuclear family unit. Woo!

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