The price of celebrating someone else's love is climbing to stratospheric heights — especially as the COVID wedding backlog clears out.
By the numbers: The average 2022 wedding guest is attending 4 weddings in 3 different cities — and spending hundreds of dollars on each, according to a survey conducted by the wedding website Zola.
- 63% say they're mostly attending weddings within driving distance, which are costing them an average of $600 each.
- But destination weddings have made a comeback. 37% are flying to celebrate and spending an average of $1300 per wedding, as airline prices keep climbing.
Costs pile up even higher for those in the wedding parties.
- There are outfits, bachelor and bachelorette trips, showers, matching pajama sets and more, costing an average of $825 per wedding, per a LendingTree survey.
- Wedding after wedding is also sapping guests' energy, the Wall Street Journal reports. Many say they barely have time to unpack between one celebration and the next.
Case in point: Axios Local editor Everett Cook tells me he was invited to 14 weddings this year, including bachelor parties. He's only going to 10.
- "I’m 30, so COVID hit right when all the weddings were picking up," he says. "I would've liked to go to all of them, but literally couldn't afford it. Not taking a single vacation this year outside of wedding trips."
Despite the costs, 2022 guests are still eager to celebrate. 77% told Zola they're feeling excited.
The bottom line: If you're planning a wedding, go easy on...