2 in 3 Aussies say ‘I do’ to spending less on weddings and more on honeymoons

As cost-of-living pressures continue, new research reveals that 88 per cent of Australians would spend, or wish they’d spent, less on their wedding, with 65 per cent saying they’d rather splash the cash on a bigger and better honeymoon. 

The findings were derived from a survey of an independent panel of 1006 Australians¹ commissioned by award-winning travel insurance provider Insure&Go in a bid to discover how inflation has impacted wedding and honeymoon trends. It also comes after a recent Australian Bureau of Statistics dataset revealed an annual cost of living increase of 9 per cent last year².

9 in 10 would, or wish they did, spend less on their wedding
The average Aussie forks out $36,000 for their nuptials, which forces 82 per cent to dip into their savings to cover the bill.³ Not surprisingly, Australians typically exceed their wedding budget by 18 per cent.⁴

From the survey, Insure&Go found that over-50s are most in favour of ditching an extravagant wedding, with a whopping 90 per cent saying they would or wish they’d paid less for their big day. Within this cohort, four out of ten (41%) say they have spending remorse and wish they’d forked out less for their wedding, while almost half (49%) say if they were to tie the knot, they would keep the cost modest.

The Insure&Go survey also uncovered that the nation’s younger demographics would prefer to spend less on a big-budget wedding in the future, with 58 per cent of under-30s adults in favour of a modest affair when the time comes. By contrast, 44 per cent of 31-50s admit the same, while the result jumps to almost half (49%) of unmarried over-50s saying they’d eschew an extravagant wedding.

However, among those who are already married, it’s Millennials and Gen X who wish they’d reigned in the wedding spend, with 43 per cent confessing they regret not paying less. A slightly lower 41 per cent of older Aussies also suffer spending remorse, while only 26 per cent of those under 30 owned up to the same.

The survey additionally shows the highest proportion of respondents wanting to spend, or wishing they’d spent, less on a wedding are in South Australia, at 91 per cent. Queenslanders are least inclined, at 87 per cent.

2 in 3 Aussies would divert savings to a bigger honeymoon
Rather than pocketing the savings, Insure&Go found that Australians continue to prioritise travel, with younger respondents particularly keen to use the funds saved on a wedding on a better domestic or international honeymoon. Well over three-quarters (84%) of under-30s adults would prefer a bigger and better romantic trip. Half (50%) would prefer to head overseas for their honeymoon.

Australians aged between 31 and 50 are a little less likely to splash on a romantic trip than a one-day celebration of love, with a lower 68.5 per cent saying they’d prefer to fork out for a bigger and better domestic or international honeymoon. Of those, 39 per cent say they’d like to head overseas.

In comparison, 53 per cent of over-50s say the same, with 30 per cent saying they’d rather take a local honeymoon and just 23 per cent preferring to head abroad.

Insure&Go Chief Commercial Officer Jonathan Etkind says it’s no surprise younger Aussies would rather curb wedding costs and splurge on the honeymoon instead. “For many, weddings are an eyewatering expense for a single day, so when faced with spending more on a wedding or travel, it’s easy to see how ‘I do’ is swapped for wanderlust, particularly following years of pandemic-fuelled travel bans.”

“As rent and house prices soar, younger Aussies are being hit the hardest. A vast majority of Australians tend to climb the property ladder for the first time in their mid-30s⁵, which could explain why this cohort wish they’d perhaps spent less on their nuptials.”

“Given that living costs and property prices are likely to continue rising in the years to come, I think we will see a growth in the trend of spending less on weddings and more on honeymoons in the coming years.”