The Cost of Getting Married Around the World

Holidu.co.uk, the search engine for holiday rentals, has released a study in partnership with Magmatic Research that analyses the cost of hosting and attending a destination wedding in over 100 locations around the world. As travel experts, they are conscious of the way the cost of living crisis is affecting people’s financial power, and, with destination weddings enjoying a resurgence in 2022, set out to compare the cost of holding a wedding in different renowned wedding destinations. To do this, they identified the typical cost of hosting a wedding in different locations, incorporating the price of hiring the venue, decoration, photographer, food, cake, drinks costs, as well as how much it costs guests to attend a wedding in each location, covering accommodation and travel costs. The results reveal where hosting and attending a destination wedding costs the most and least.

 

How the study was conducted

The study began by researching the most renowned locations to hold a destination wedding, according to wedding blogs, websites and review sites, before cutting the shortlist down to over 100 of the most prominent locations with comparable data. Next, the researchers grouped the costs involved in hosting and attending a wedding into two categories: Costs for the Couple, and Costs for Guests.

The first category

Costs for the Couple, includes items that the couple getting married generally pay for when hosting a wedding, incorporating the venue, decoration, photographer, food, cake, and drinks. To collect price data for the venue, the researchers found the most renowned wedding venues in each location before taking a sample of the most representative venues and identifying the median price. They then sought typical prices for the decoration, photographer, food, cake, and drinks in each location. In cases where prices for multiple items were bundled together, regular prices in each location were identified and removed from the given cost to avoid double counting. The researchers then calculated the typical overall cost to the couple of hosting a destination wedding in each location.

The second category

Costs for Guests, includes costs that are generally paid by attendees, incorporating accommodation and return travel to the wedding location from each city in the study. To obtain this data, the researchers found the median cost of accommodation in each location for two time periods in July and August 2022, and calculated the cost of staying for five-nights. Additionally, they researched the price of return transport for two time periods in July and August,from a range of countries to each wedding destination. They then selected the minimum possible price for each destination.

The researchers then calculated the estimated overall cost to guests of attending a destination wedding in each location. The resulting index provides a representative comparison of how much it costs to host and attend a destination wedding in 2022 in popular wedding locations around the world.

Findings

The list below reveals a sample of results for the locations where hosting a destination wedding costs the most. The ‘Total Wedding Cost’ incorporates the price of the venue, decoration, photographer, food, cake, and drinks for 100 guests.

City / Total Wedding Cost

  1. The Hamptons, USA $45,987 
  2. Positano, Italy $43,090
  3. Fogo Town, Canada $39,012
  4. Seville, Spain $36,262
  5. Florence, Italy $33,569
  6. Paris, France $31,146
  7. Venice, Italy $30,105
  8. New York, USA  $30,012
  9. Saint Tropez, France $27,716
  10. Cascais, Portugal $27,614
 

 

 

 

 

The next list below reveals a sample of results for the locations where hosting a destination wedding costs the least. The ‘Total Wedding Cost’ incorporates the price of the venue, decoration, photographer, food, cake, and drinks for 100 guests.

City / Total Wedding Cost

  1. Lahore, Pakistan $3,530
  2. Goa, India $3,858
  3. Nha Trang, Vietnam $6,316
  4. Marrakech, Morocco $6,329
  5. Macao, Macao, S.A.R. $7,285
  6. Hluboka nad Vltavou, Czechia $7,541
  7. Gretna Green, UK $7,816
  8. San Miguel de Allende, México $7,922
  9. Taipei, Taiwan $8,157
  10. Porto Seguro, Brazil $8,524

The Most Expensive Wedding Venues in the World

While the main study looks at the cost of a typical wedding in popular venues in each location, the researchers also collected data on some of the most expensive wedding venues in the world to reveal what is available for couples with a larger budget. Below is a list of five of the most expensive wedding venues in the world.

For this section, prices were collected for 100 guests. If prices weren’t available for 100 guests, they were normalized to make them comparable. Venues were selected based on wedding blogs and websites. Prices were sourced by contacting the venues directly. Some prices were provided separately for each item; others were provided as a bundle price. Where prices were provided in a different currency, they were converted using an average of the exchange rates on the following dates: 4/20/2022; 5/20/2022.

Venue Hire Food & Drinks Total Price
The Villa Casa Casuarina, Miami $35,000 $85,000 $120,000
New York Public Library, New York $70,000 $25,563* $95,777
Alila Villas Uluwatu, Bali $48,138 $15,060 $63,199
The Savoy, London $24,882 $31,259* $56,141
Burj Al Arab, Dubai $54,450** $54,450

*Minimum spend for food and drinks.

**Combined price for venue + food and drinks (minimum spend).

 

What are your thoughts on these findings? We’d love to hear what you think in the comments below!