The cost of going to an overseas wedding is draining the bank balances of guests invited to celebrate in an exotic location with the bride and groom.
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An estimated one in 10 people will have an invite to weddings of expats or British couples choosing a sunshine destination to get hitched.
But on top of the cost of clothes and gifts, the average cost of joining an overseas wedding party is twice the cost of going to a ceremony in Britain, according to a new survey.
Guests can expect to fork out an average £564, compared with £247 for a UK wedding, says financial comparison web site confused.com.
The research revealed more couples are opting for an overseas wedding because of cost.
Around one in six weddings are outside the country, but 10% of disgruntled guests believe the happy couple should subsidise their trip if they really want them to join the celebrations.
Trouble and strife
The dilemma is more couples would lose the benefit of a cheaper wedding if they had to put their hands in their pockets to pay for flights and accommodation for friends and family.
The result is trouble and strife between the couple getting married and their loved ones.
Half of invited guests say they would prefer to go to a wedding in the UK because of the cost and 40% thought expecting friends and families to travel vast distances to a wedding was too much to ask.
Another 13% resented giving up holiday time to spend a few hours at a wedding, while 14% would refuse to go regardless of how friendly they were with the couple.
Whether to buy a present when attending an overseas wedding was also a problem for one in 10 who thought shelling out for flights and hotels was enough.
Making an effort
Not all marrying couples leave their guests to bear the burden of the cost of turning up for their overseas weddings. One in eight said they were happy to pay something towards the costs of their friends and family making the effort to turn up.
However, 25% confessed they chose an overseas wedding because they knew only the people that really liked them would turn up. They also told researchers they expected the wedding would be less stressful and lead to fewer arguments.
The most popular overseas wedding destinations are the Caribbean (19%); Australia (12%); America (10%); Canada (8%) and Cyprus (8%).
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