Weddings abroad statistics 2023

Weddings abroad can be a great cost-saver for couples, but they do come with the added expense of travel for their guests. Finder’s research shows Brits are set to spend an estimated £17.1 billion attending weddings overseas in 2023, up from £15.6 billion in 2022. Let’s dig into the stats.

Wedding abroad statistics: Highlights

• A quarter of British adults (25%) have attended a wedding abroad or plan to in the next year.
• Spending on weddings abroad is expected to increase from an estimated £15.6 billion in 2022 to just over £17.1 billion in 2023.
• Brits spend £1,922 on average to attend their family and friends’ weddings abroad.
• Over 50% of those aged 18–24 will attend a wedding abroad in a 2-year time frame.
• Couples can make considerable savings by having a destination wedding – £23,000 in Greater London compared to nearly £15,000 in Thailand.
• The exchange rate when paying overseas suppliers and the cost of sending money overseas can make a big difference to the overall cost of a wedding abroad.

17% of Brits plan to attend a wedding abroad in 2023

• 17% of Brits plan to attend a wedding abroad in 2023, up from 15% in 2022. That’s the equivalent of nearly 9 million Brits who will be celebrating nuptials in another country.
• In total, a quarter (25%) of British adults have either attended a wedding in the last 12 months or plan to attend one this year.
• Men are more likely to go to a destination wedding with 28% having either attended one last year or plan to this year, compared to 22% of women.
• Brits aged 18–24 are the most likely to be going abroad for a wedding with nearly 2 in 5 (39%) planning to attend one this year. Nearly a third of those aged 25–34 said the same (31%), 1 in 5 of those aged 35–44 (22%), 13% of those aged 45–54 and 4% of those 55+.
• Meanwhile, 7% of Brits said they’ve already attended an overseas wedding and also plan to do so again in the next 12 months.

How much are Brits spending on overseas weddings?

• Spending on weddings abroad is set to cost an estimated £17.1 billion in 2023, up £1.5 billion from 2022 (£15.6 billion).
• Brits spend an average of £1,922 when they attend an overseas wedding. Last year they spent a fraction less ( £1,906) compared to their estimated spend for 2023 ( £1,929).
• 44% said their expenses amounted or will amount to £1,501–£3,000 while 41% said £500–£1,500. Around 13% say they have spent or plan to spend £3,001–£5,000 while just 2% said under £500.
• In terms of generations, millennials are the biggest spenders for overseas weddings (£2,011) followed by gen Z (£1,934), the silent generation (£1,841), gen X (£1,812) and boomers (£1,546).

Most popular overseas weddings destinations for Brits

With the amount spent on overseas weddings set to grow, you might be wondering where Brits are mostly likely to hold their nuptials. Our researchers put together an easy way to look at real data from the months leading up to wedding season to get an idea of which countries are most popular.

Quick statistics

• Italy is the most popular wedding destination for Brits.
• 1 in 4 British couples decide to have their wedding abroad.
• The average number of guests to a destination wedding is between 10 and 15 guests.
• 48% of couples went over their wedding budget in 2021.

Our researchers put together an easy way to look at real data from the months leading up to wedding season - just to get an idea of what countries are the UK's favourites - and here is what they found:

It's not a surprise to see the likes of Spain, Greece and Cyprus make an appearance. Other European destinations with the promise of some sun also proved popular, with Turkey and Portugal making the top 10.

For those looking further than a short-haul flight, the English-speaking countries of Australia and Canada were also favoured, ranking 8th and 14th. Meanwhile, countries with large populations such as India and China placed 7th and 11th respectively.

If you are looking to get married abroad, choosing where is just the first step. Find out how easy it is to access funds abroad. You will also most likely have to send money to your chosen wedding destination, so take a look at how to send money to Italy, Ireland and Greece. You will also want to get the best travel deal for you and your wedding guests, so check out our comparison guides for hotels and flights.

Top 5 most popular outside of Europe

Top 10 most popular

Methodology

Finder conducted a nationally representative survey of 2,000 British adults in late December 2022 via Censuswide.

Most popular wedding destinations

Our top most searched for destinations for Brits getting married abroad is based on our extensive market research. We used data from Google Trends to see which countries were the most popular for getting married abroad in May 2022. We monitored the same data in the months proceeding May in order to identify any patterns or trends and referenced these against paid SEO tools.

Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact –

Matt Mckenna
UK Head of Communications
T: +44 20 8191 8806