The current cost of planning a wedding is sure to be a bride’s woe—or is it the father’s woe!?! The family’s!?! It might all depend on who is writing the check or checks!?! But this morning, the guest was the hot topic of the ‘Wedding Woes’!?!
Fox Business News was reporting on the rising costs of guests attending a wedding this past week! I (Litsa) didn’t catch the entire newscast but the figure of $550 that shot across the screen was etched in my mind. I also saw my husband’s eyes alerted to the television as he listened. We didn’t discuss the numbers or the newscast due to time restraints. However, we both knew the answer.
We had just enjoyed a wedding and an elaborate reception in Memphis, TN. The city is only a few hours from our home but a full tank of gas to Memphis and back is around $80-$100. An overnight hotel stay was $155 including breakfast for three (and we didn’t stay at the hotel reception site which was double this figure plus parking). Parking for the reception was paid by us—$10 more! The trip (Saturday/Sunday) also consisted of two coffee stops for two—$15 added cost. We didn’t have to factor in lunch (breakfast tied us over) on Sunday but Saturday’s lunch en-route to the wedding was $10—-but I do remember a Sunday afternoon treat on our way home—ice-cream for three $8. Thus, our total was approximately $300 as guests! And we haven’t even added in the price of our gift yet…….wedding woes!?!
Although the wedding woes were ours as guests—-as a family, we thoroughly invested in enjoying our time in the city together. We laughed, took photographs, ate together, played—-made memories! Thus, the wedding expenses were minute to the time we spent together relishing one another in the midst of friends—and time away from home’s demands. It was a mini vacation for our family. Likewise, the wedding that my daughter and I attended in Greece (pictured) was a family vacation. It too had it’s own expenses but the memories remain.
Knowing that there’s a rising cost of attending weddings keeps one attentive to the cost. You can budget for attending weddings out of town and creating unforgettable moments in your life too. The video that Fox Business posted can be found HERE. Within it are a few tips that can help keep the cost down if you are invited to more than one or two weddings a year!
As for our family, we don’t foresee any more wedding woes in the near future!
Photos Credits: Mary Kappis Ntonas Wedding
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