But attendees considering this route should first evaluate their overall financial situation carefully. “Try to avoid letting tangential benefits be the primary motivation for undertaking key financial decisions,” said Vincent Birardi, a senior wealth adviser at Halbert Hargrove in Long Beach, Calif. “People should be mindful of opening too many new credit card accounts too quickly, as doing so can potentially lower your credit score temporarily. Carrying unpaid balances on multiple cards can have an even larger negative impact on your credit score.”
Sacks also tries to be intentional with her flight choices. “We’re currently loyal to Delta,” she said. If it’s significantly cheaper to depart the morning after the wedding rather than in the evening, she recommends doing so, even if that means missing a farewell brunch. “Unless you’re the maid of honor, I promise no one is scanning the room looking for you,” she said.
The idea that it’s more economical to buy flights on certain days of the week is outdated, said Brian Kelly, the founder of the Points Guy, a travel advice website. Rather, Kelly said, “it’s all based on demand.” Booking a domestic flight four to six weeks ahead of time is “the sweet spot,” he added. “The airlines penalize nervous Nellies, and then they penalize last-minute travelers.”
In addition to booking lodging and travel, wedding guests also have to consider apparel. The PayPal survey revealed that millennials and Gen Zers considered attire to be the biggest expense when attending a wedding. Many attendees are choosing to re-wear favorite outfits to multiple celebrations, and some of them even let friends borrow their attire.
For the past two years, Maura Judge, 29, has mostly worn the same two dresses to weddings: a black, strapless gown from Reformation, and a blue tulle dress from Hill House. Judge, who lives in Manhattan, first purchased the blue dress to wear as a bridesmaid at her friend Katie Sweeney’s wedding in 2024. Sweeney recently wore the dress to Judge’s wedding in June.
In 2021, the writer Caitlin Poole, 37, ordered a bright pink Farm Rio dress from the resale marketplace Poshmark after a friend requested that close friends wear either hot pink or red. “It came, and it was so perfect and comfortable, and I felt good and confident in it,” said Poole, who lives in Durham, N.C., and paid $250 for the dress. It was new with tags, and she has worn it to eight weddings.
For Poole, repeatedly wearing the same dress is more than a money-saving technique. “I’ve always been interested in sustainable and ethical fashion,” she said. Having a go-to option also alleviates decision fatigue. “Leading up to weddings, I used to feel this amount of stress,” Poole said. “‘Am I going to feel comfortable? Is this going to work? How is it going to look?’ Now, everybody just knows, ‘Oh, that’s Caitlin’s wedding guest dress.’”
