Saving money as a wedding guest is possible with these simple tips

How to save money as a wedding guest (5 Secrets)

Attending weddings can be tough on your wallet. But if you know how to save money as a wedding guest, you can enjoy a fun, carefree celebration.

It feels great to get invited to a wedding. Being asked by a relative or friend to share in one of life’s biggest milestones can be an honor. But it can also be costly—and not just for the marrying couple. Travel, gifts, clothes, and hotels can add up into the hundreds and even thousands of dollars for wedding guests. 

To add to the expense, wedding invitations tend to cluster around certain times of your life—mid-20s, early 30s, for instance. Multiply these costs three or four times in a given year, and your bank account could take a major hit at a time when you should be finding your financial footing.

Rather than declining the wedding invitation, the question to ask yourself is, “How can I save money as a wedding guest?”​

A person, holding a pen and a coffee cup, sits on the ground next to a couch looking at a laptop.

“If you have a busy wedding season ahead of you, I recommend making a budget ASAP,” says Janessa White, co-founder of a wedding planning service specializing in elopement packages.

While the happy couple is busy planning their wedding, it seems you’ve got some planning to do of your own: namely, figuring out how to save money as a wedding guest. In between dusting off your dancing shoes and checking out gift registries, try these tips for saving money as a wedding guest:

1. Proactively budget

Once you accept a wedding invitation, try to be mindful of every wedding-related dollar you spend to save money as a wedding guest. This could include costs for pre-parties (think engagement parties, showers and bachelor/bachelorette gatherings), gifts, and travel expenses. Tracking your expenses as a wedding guest will provide insight into how much you’re spending (is the hair appointment before the wedding a must-have?) and will help you prioritize the festivities and expenses most important to you.

If multiple weddings are on your calendar, you may want to consider devoting a portion of your entertainment or discretionary budget to attending. You could even carve out a budget goal for each wedding if it’s a jam-packed year. From there, Jennif