Weddings are no longer just a celebration of love; they're also a serious financial commitment. From booking a hotel for the big day to splashing out on new outfits, beauty appointments, gifts, and travel, the cost of attending a UK wedding can quickly add up.
And while destination weddings might offer a picturesque, often more affordable experience for the couple tying the knot, they can leave guests footing a much steeper bill. As more people jet off to say "I do" in Italy, Greece, or even further afield, we’re asking: who really pays the price?
The team at Slingo has delved deep into the expected and unexpected costs of a UK wedding, the costs of attending a wedding and pre-wedding celebrations, and the costs of destination weddings compared to the cost of a UK wedding. We have also collected social and Google search data to reveal the most popular destination wedding locations.
The expected and unexpected expenses: the real cost of a UK wedding
When planning their nuptials, a couple needs to budget for a range of expenses, many of which are very obvious. However, there is also a range of expenses that might slip under the radar for many.A breakdown by Budget Bakers indicates that expected and unexpected expenses can add up to at least £18,000 to the total cost of a UK wedding. When split, over £15,000 of this total is from common and expected wedding expenses. This shows that unexpected or less commonly considered expenses can eat up around one quarter of your total wedding budget.
The most expensive wedding expense is the venue, which costs an average of around £7,600 in the UK. Food and drink for your guests is the second largest cost, at around £4,680, plus an additional £200 to feed your photographer and videographer. Pre-wedding beauty treatments are the biggest unexpected wedding expense, costing up to £600 on average.
And even when you have considered every detail of your wedding carefully, there can still be little mishaps or unforeseen circumstances, as such, the cost of wedding insurance is factored in too. On average, it can cost around £250, but this can rise depending on the type of coverage you have and even the number of guests attending your wedding.
Destination weddings have swiftly risen in popularity, especially over the last 12 months, as Google searches in the UK for “destination wedding” have increased by 83%. This is likely largely due to the cheaper wedding expenses that can be found abroad and the incredibly stunning locations.
When it comes to a wedding in the UK or a destination wedding, it won’t come as too much of a surprise that many popular locations abroad are more expensive. France and Italy exemplify this, being 45% and 37% more expensive than a UK wedding. However, alongside France and Italy, there are only three other countries where a wedding would cost more than a UK wedding on average—Greece, Spain, and Portugal.
Although the average cost of each of these popular locations is just £16,303, which is 9% less than a UK wedding. On average, a wedding in the Seychelles or Antigua is 24% cheaper than a UK wedding. The Maldives and Mauritius are even more affordable, at 27% and 31% less expensive, respectively.
The cost of attending a UK wedding vs a destination wedding
The cost of attending a wedding in the UK can fluctuate greatly depending on how far you have to travel, accommodation for the wedding location, and even the gift you buy. That being said, often, the figure £1,000 is thrown around. However, research from Experian indicates that the cost, while still significant, is actually quite a bit lower on average.
Their research, carried out in May 2024, revealed that wedding guests spend around £451, which is almost one-fifth of the average UK monthly salary. The most expensive expenses people reported when attending a wedding were gifts (£108), accommodation (£103), and outfits (£92). Almost one-third of people admitted that they had to significantly cut back on luxuries to attend weddings they’d been invited to.
Research from Aviva has shown that attending a destination wedding overseas costs £978 on average, over double the cost of attending a wedding in the UK. The research also uncovered that almost two-fifths of Brits are prepared to spend over £900 attending weddings overseas, with a further 4% willing to spend as much as £5,000.
Stag and hen events also make up a significant cost for many when they attend a wedding. Aviva surveyed 1,000 UK adults regarding average costs for stag and hen dos, which revealed that the average cost in the UK is around £779. Three in four UK adults believe these pre-wedding celebrations are too extravagant and expensive to attend, according to an Experian survey. This is even worse for the maid of honour and best man, as on average, they spend £211 more, paying for costs upfront and not being reimbursed.
This cost is even higher for those attending pre-wedding celebrations abroad, with the average total cost rising to £1,208 per person, 55% more than those held in the UK. Transport costs more than double to £184, with food and drink costs increasing by more than 78% when attending stag and hen dos abroad.
Italy is the most Googled destination wedding country
1. Italy
Number of Google searches: 122,200
In first place for the destination wedding countries with the most global Google searches in the last 12 months, is Italy. This comes as the country has reported an increase in its tourism, which has directly been linked to a rise in destination weddings1. However, it is one of the most expensive on average, at £24,738.
2. Greece
Number of Google searches: 105,000
Greece is the second most popular destination wedding according to Google searches in the last 12 months, with “Greece wedding” receiving around 105,000 searches globally. Greece also ranks in the top three most expensive destination wedding locations, at £22,755, but remains popular for its incredible scenery and the romantic ambience it provides.
3. Bali
Number of Google searches: 88,200
In third place for Googled destination weddings is Bali, which has had 88,200 searches globally in the last 12 months. On average, Bali is around 15% cheaper than the average UK wedding, costing £15,316.
Instagram users crown Bali the most popular destination wedding location
1. Bali
Number of Instagram posts: 1,400,000
Instagram users have crowned Bali as the most popular destination wedding, with around 1.4 million posts on the social media platform. The Indonesian province already hosts anywhere from 6,000 to 16,000 weddings per year2, with the best time to get hitched in the region being in the off-season between October and November or January to March.
2. Italy
Number of Instagram posts: 606,000
Italy takes second place for Instagram's most popular destination wedding locations with 606,000 posts for #italywedding. Again, in 2024, Italy’s Department of Tourism reported that over 30,000 foreigners got married4 in the country, which would be an 11.4% increase from the previous year.
3. Mexico
Number of Instagram posts: 321,000
In third place is Mexico, which has 321,000 posts for #mexicowedding on Instagram. Mexico is a popular destination for weddings, often offering an appealing blend of beautiful locations and affordable prices. On average, a Mexican wedding costs almost 13% less than a UK wedding.
Bali is also the favourite destination wedding location on TikTok
1. Bali
Number of TikTok posts: 22,000
Bali also comes out on top as the most popular destination wedding location on TikTok, with around 22,000 posts on the social media platform. One video shared a couple having a more intimate ceremony in a viridian grove with a waterfall in the background. Another video on TikTok displayed a more public Bali wedding venue on a beautiful white sand beach with a clear blue ocean behind.
2. Italy
Number of TikTok posts: 19,500
Despite being one of the more pricey destination wedding options, Italy’s popularity cannot be denied. The country has around 19,500 posts for #italywedding on TikTok, making it the second most popular destination wedding location.
3. Mexico
Number of TikTok posts: 13,500
And in third place for the most popular destination wedding locations on TikTok is Mexico, having had 13,500 posts for #mexicowedding on the social media platform. Videos range from guides to organising a wedding here, to celebrity inspiration.
Methodology:
UsingBudget Bakers we recorded the broken down average costs of a wedding in the UK. This includes both obvious and unexpected costs. We then used this information to calculate the average cost of a wedding in the UK.
We usedExperian to find the average cost of attending a wedding in the UK. We then compared this against Aviva’s research about how much it costs to attending a wedding abroad.
AnalysingAviva’s research we recorded the average broken down costs of attending a stag do/hen do in the UK and abroad.
UseSN Travel to find the costs of a wedding abroad.
Using Google Keyword Planner we recorded the number of global searches for popular destination wedding locations, using the search term “[LOCATION] Wedding”. The search volumes are from April 2024 to March 2025.
Using Instagram we recorded the number of posts for the tag “[LOCATION] wedding'. This data was collected on 08/04/2025.
We also used TikTik to see the number of posts with the tag '[LOCATION] wedding'. This data was collected on 08/04/2025.
