Agh! It’s my best friend’s wedding
THE notion of a free day out when your best friend ties the knot has been put to bed by some startling new research.
It has emerged that once that invite to the big day lands on the doormat, a guest couple can be expected to spend an astonishing €2,000 on the event.
And men are being blamed as the bigger spendthrifts, mainly because a modern-day stag party is not the real deal unless it involves air flights.
According to OneFabDay. com’s Naoise McNally ‘stags typically go away for the weekend so they can be €300 to €500 (each), depending where they go’, while hens, which tend to be dinner and drinks, are around €100.
Event companies Stagit.ie and Henit.ie estimate hens and stags spend an average of €148 per person on top of the cost of the trip and that almost one in three parties travel abroad.
The most popular destinations in Ireland for stags are Carrick-on-Shan- non, Kilkenny and Galway. Liverpool Newcastle and Edinburgh are the top three UK destinations. In Europe, Prague, Barcelona and Benidorm are hens’ and stags’ favourite spots.
Outfits also add to the cost for wedding guests, with women spending an average of €200 on an outfit while men typically spend €250 on a suit. Ms McNally said that women were less likely to recycle their outfits than men.
‘It depends on how many weddings you’re going to and how many people you know. You might be able to recycle some of them,’ she said, adding that some women would not wear the same outfit as they would be afraid that photos may be posted on social media and other guests will notice.
Women also fork out an average of €100 on hair, makeup and nails to get dolled up for the big day.
And while men are more likely to recycle their outfits and don’t have the updos expense, their suits can cost up to €600. A spokeswoman at designer brand store House of Fraser said: ‘For a three-piece suit, trousers, shirt and
‘Women don’t recycle outfits’
jacket, you’d be looking at €250 or so. For the Hugo Boss or big-label suits, you’d be talking €500 or €600.’
Ms McNally said the gift for the newlyweds is also a big expense, ranging between €150 and €250. The cost of accommodation sets couples back an average of €300 per night.
But Ms McNally said guests often choose to stay in a nearby bed and breakfast for a third of the cost and some peace, as the One4All survey found that three quarters of wedding guests will arrange childminding to attend weddings with a no-children policy. The survey also found that more than half of Irish brides plan to take their husband’s surname.
Ms MacNally said: ‘People aren’t as attached to their maiden names as you might think in the modern age.’
Just one in ten brides plan to take a double-barrel approach and just 2 per cent opt to follow TV host Dawn O’Porter’s lead, who merged her maiden name husband Chris O’Dowd’s surname after their 2012 wedding.