Average wedding cost abroad

Tim Robbins

Hi,
You get invited to a wedding abroad. Between flights, hotel, wedding present, clothes, spending cost etc. how much does it cost you?
(Cost is per person not per couple)
Here's mine:

Hotel: 180
Flights: 230
Spending Money (Money for taxis, drink etc).: 200
Wedding Present: 100

Total Cost: 610.

Before people start saying it depends where it is, just give me your average i.e. Spain not Hawaii

Let's here your's?

iceman777

I was best man at one in Lanzarote in May, which was a great wedding and holiday by the way. My cost breakdown was for 1 week:

Flights: €325
Accommodation: €300 for sharing a villa - well worth it for your own room, bathroom and private pool
Present: €250
Spending money: €600

I was out every night of the week, which was cheap and that included all my food, travel, shopping etc.

It sounds quite dear, but it was a holiday in itself outside of the wedding.

dame

800 - 900

Lots of hotels in Ireland insist on 2 nights accommodation, or lots of couples are making a full weekend out of the wedding nowadays. I've been to weddings in Ireland where the cost of B&B in the hotel is 180 per person per night! :eek: Of course you can look for a cheaper place down the road but that'll still set you back half that again, plus the cost & hassle of taxis on top.

Accommodation in other countries is almost always better value for money and in an awful lot of cases it's cheaper too. And if you're going to have to pay for 2 nights accommodation wouldn't you prefer to have a bit of a break and get a bit of sight-seeing in as well, rather than staying in some hotel in a place in Ireland that is only an hour or two down the road and you've been to loads of times.

Clothes tend to be more formal and more expensive for women attending weddings in Ireland. You can get away with a nice summer dress (that you'll wear again) when you're going to a wedding abroad.


So lets see;
Hotel Ireland average: E140 per person per night (eg Galway) (not 5* by any means)
New outfit for woman guest Ireland: E300
Spending money for either: E100
Present for either: E100
Transport to wedding in Ireland: E30 petrol, E20 taxi = E50
Total for 2 nights in Ireland: E690

Hotel 5* Eastern Europe: E90 per room per night (yes, that's what we paid earlier this summer ) (= E45 pp per night)
New outfit for woman guest abroad: E200
Spending money for either: E100
Present for either: E100
Transport to wedding abroad: E180
Total for 2 nights Abroad: E670
EDITED BECAUSE CALCULATED WITH 90 PP PER NIGHT, INSTEAD OF 45 PP PER NIGHT, SO NOW IT ACTUALLY COSTS LESS TO GO TO WEDDING ABROAD!!!

So you're right Tim Robbins, it might cost slightly more to attend a wedding abroad than a wedding in Ireland, but at least you'll be feeling like you've had a bit of a break and you'll be seeing somewhere different rather than sitting down to the typical wedding dinner, followed by typical band, followed by typical dj, with lots of waiting around in between. Also, if you're going to the wedding abroad you're more likely to feel involved ue to the fact that you'll be a relative or very close friend, rather than one of the 200+ rent-a-crowd at a typical Irish wedding. Plus, the weather and surroundings are an awful lot more likely to be warm and stunning (or at least different) and you won't have the standing around shivering outside an Irish church in 10 degress Celsius. Then again, if the slight difference in cost of attending the wedding abroad is that off-putting for you - you can always decline the invitation (like I've pointed out to you before in other threads about weddings abroad).

My opinion: Wedding abroad is the way to go!



EDIT: Due to earlier error in calculations, my vote was cast in a higher bracket than it should have been, make that 600-700 now, not 700-800!

dame

800 - 900

iceman777 wrote:

It sounds quite dear, but it was a holiday in itself outside of the wedding.

How many Irish weddings would you say the same about OP?

500 - 600

The last wedding I attended abroad-

Flights - 140
Accommodation - 250 for four nights B&B in a five-star hotel
Present - Bought gift worth 130
Transport - Zero. Ceremony and reception were in hotel grounds
Clothes - Zero. Got to wear summery dress I'd bought earlier this year as temperature was hitting 34C and the wedding was informal

Cost of having a fantastic four-day break in a top class hotel with 20 friends in great weather and seeing an old buddy get married minus the tedium and rigmarole of a 'traditional' Irish wedding - Priceless!

barbiegirl

Hi Dame & Tim Robbins. I was reading the locked thread from earlier in the month as well as this one.
I am getting married in Italy next month. We have purposely picked an area close to Ryan Air flights, with very reasonable hotels, on a train line, with loads to do for our guests. We will be providing excellent food and all the drink for the entire day. We are also paying for the accomodation for a week for our parents, combined 8 siblings with partners and kids. We are doing everything we can to keep costs down for our guests whilst still allowing us to have our dream wedding in the sun, with excellent food and wine.(instead of mediocre Irish wedding food)
We have invited our close friends, our immediate families, aunts, uncles and close cousins. Everyone seems to be delighted to come.
To us the reason for Italy was not about cost or numbers, but about celebrating the day we make such a large committment to one another, in front of family and friends, in our dream location. Being outside for much of the day is the most important element of this wedding party (not ceremony) to me and I couldn't have that at home.

Tim - some of my friends cannot afford to come, one aunt is scared to fly, but we are not putting pressure on people. We've given everyone loads of notice 11 months and because the area we picked is so convenient it is suiting the vast majority. We are not asking for cash gifts or indeed any gifts, we are saving our asses off to afford this and our families are genuinely happy. Before you say we must be loaded, we're not. We're normal working class.The cost of the flights is €180 per person and an apartment sleeping four costs €100.00 per night, €25 each. Flights into and out of Rome are everyday so you don't need to stay more than 2 nights if you don't want to.

We also have agreed to no engagement presents at all. Why we have a house done out with everything we need. Our stag and hen nights will be Dublin based with us putting up any out of towners.
To both of you boys can I just say one thing. A wedding is not about how much it costs, who wears what, who gives what, etc. If you are not happy to attend a wedding don't go because the couple need your best wishes not resentment, if you want to but can't, send a message it means a lot to the couple, if you are invited to a wedding you should be a good friend, close relative etc. so if you can't afford it a quick whisper to the bride or groom will let them know and you can both give a plausible reason if anyone asks. An invite is an invite, not a summons, don't treat it like one, it ruins the meaning of the day.
To all my guests - Get ready to PARTY !!!

dame

800 - 900

Hi barbiegirl, that sounds lovely! That's exactly the way it should be, having the wedding you want, without the sameness of an Irish wedding (but no pressure on anyone else to attend). Best of luck with it!

John Wine

dame wrote: »

Hi barbiegirl, that sounds lovely! That's exactly the way it should be, having the wedding you want, without the sameness of an Irish wedding (but no pressure on anyone else to attend). Best of luck with it!

Well that's it exactly. The "Wedding you want", not the "Wedding they want".
This is all about perception. Yourself and Tim are coming at it from opposite ends, that's the way I read it.