About 40 per cent of Canadians said attending weddings of friends or family is a major source of financial stress, according to a new survey. Photo by rawpixel.com/stock.adobe.com

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When wedding bells ring, alarm bells go off for the invited guests who are left with the question of how much to splurge, or whether they can afford to attend at all.

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About 40 per cent of respondents to a Bank of Montreal survey of Canadians published this week said attending weddings of friends or family is a major source of financial stress. But among millennials, it was 49 per cent.

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On average, respondents believed they need to spend about $1,530 to attend a wedding, taking into consideration the cost of travel and accommodations ($577), clothing and attire ($446), food and drinks ($381), wedding gifts ($370) and other expenses ($401).

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On a generational scale, millennials and gen Xers reported similar estimates to the total average, at about $1,567 and $1,559 respectively, but boomers valued the cost of attending a wedding at less, about $1,218 on average.

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Gen Zers, on the other hand, estimated it would cost $1,919 on average to attend a wedding, the highest across all generations.

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In another survey, nearly two-thirds of generation Z respondents said they have already declined or are being more selective about attending summer weddings, a far higher number than respondents from other generations at 48 per cent, according to a May survey about summer spending plans from Toronto-Dominion Bank.

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As for putting on a wedding, respondents to the BMO survey estimated it would set them back $19,000 on average. This includes the cost of food and drinks ($4,884), the venue ($4,201), wedding attire, hair and makeup ($2,951), travel and accommodations ($2,834), decorations ($1,713), entertainment ($1,603) and photography and videography ($1,648).

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Millennials set their estimated wedding costs the highest at $21,365 on average, followed by gen X at $19,368, gen Z at $16,931 and boomers at $15,597.

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The BMO report used research conducted by Ipsos from December 29, 2025 to January 27, 2026, and is part of the bank’s Real Financial Progress Index, an indicator of how consumers feel about their personal finances and financial progress.

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