The One Wedding Trend Draining Young Women’s Bank Accounts

This article is part of Upstream, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

***

RSVP like you mean it, y’all, because it’s wedding season. But this year, standing by your bestie as she says “I do” comes with a soul-crushing price tag. Grab a bottle of Veuve and get ready for a shocking lesson in “girl math.” 

Just like Kristen Wiig’s character in “Bridesmaids,” “I’m excited, and I feel relaxed, and I’m ready to parrrrrr-tayyyyyy!” The economy’s sluggish, and people are less likely to get married, but the $100 billion wedding industry in the U.S. continues to thrive. 

Roughly 2 million couples tied the knot in 2025, with 77% of those who said the economy affected their plans claiming they spent more, not less. Apparently, “something borrowed” refers to all the cash in the wedding party’s savings accounts. 

These days, the average wedding costs $36,000, but it’s not surprising to see couples shell out $100,000 or more for the party of the year. Allison Cullman, vice president of marketing for wedding planning site Zola, blames extravagant spending on the limitless inspiration of social media. Decades before, brides were stuck with “wedding magazines and binders.” 

With high-profile nuptials from stars like Lainey Wilson already on the books for #WeddingSzn26, and Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s semi-secret ceremony likely to flood social media in July, there’s a cultural script to go big or go home when it comes to the big bash. 

As Kansas City Chiefs co-owner Clark Hunt’s daughter Gracie Hunt recently revealed via Instagram, every detail matters. The billionaire heiress invited 14 bridesmaids to participate in her upcoming wedding. We can assume Hunt and Co. covered the fresh flowers, catering, personalized bubbly, and Sugarfina champagne gummy bears. But the rest of the #BrideTribe probably spent significant dough on floral tea dresses, matching clutches, hair, makeup, and party heels.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Gracie Hunt (@graciehunt)

“There is something so special about being surrounded by women who make you feel stronger, wiser, softer, and closer to Jesus just by knowing them,” Gracie posted. “My heart is overwhelmingly grateful for each of these friendships and the gift of getting to do life together.”

It’s a blindingly beautiful message. But logistically, these warm fuzzies come at a price. For those who might not be funded by an heiress bride, the cost of entry into this bridal supporting cast is astronomical compared to the estimated $610 to be a regular wedding guest. 

This is the reality. Bridesmaids throw down on dresses, shoes, shapewear, jewelry, alterations, bachelorette blowouts, travel, lodging, spray tans, and Instagrammable looks for the wedding weekend.

All-in, the bridesmaid life can cost anywhere from $1,500 to $5,000 per wedding. The tally only rises from there for destination ceremonies, bachelorette vacations, plus-ones, and babysitters. And don’t forget to peep those bridal shower and wedding registries. Waterford crystal flutes don’t buy themselves.

Add to that the potential emotional cost of a viral wardrobe malfunction during the reception entrance, like the bridesmaid who did “The Worm” in a dress she may never want to show her face in again. This is your gift for agreeing to give 100% support with zero decision-making ability regarding the festivities.

“I cannot believe I have to walk down the aisle in front of 200 people looking like something you drink when you’re nauseous,” Rachel said on “Friends” while dressed in a Pepto-colored tulle disaster of a bridesmaid’s dress. Pay up, girl. You wouldn’t want your BFF4EVR to catch wind that you aren’t in it to win it.

Even when your eyes are wide open, surprise expenditures add up fast. “My total costs ended up being $3,500 at the end of the year after a bunch of events (that I didn’t know I had to pay for) and keeping up with the bougie tastes of the other bridesmaids,” noted one reluctant wedding attendant. “I sincerely regret saying yes because I ended up being extremely stressed over money all the time (I was not making much then).”

Someone else spelled out the truth for everyone but the newlyweds when they wrote, “While your wedding might be the most important day of your life, it’s not the most important day for everyone else.” 

There’s an emotional cost as well since you weren’t invited to be a bridesmaid for nothing. Maybe you were best friends as kids, you held each other’s hair after college parties, or you cried with each other through heartbreak. Can you put a price on hurt feelings or strained friendships after declining a bridesmaid proposal? And there’s the inevitable knife to the gut when you see the #LoveAtFirstSwipe and #BrideOrDie carousels on Instagram, minus you. It’s even worse if several different friends are getting hitched in the same year.

Still, despite the social pressure to say yes to the financial mess, some would-be bridesmaids are unapologetically saying “no thanks” to the gig. 

“We need to normalize saying no to being people’s bridesmaids,” one maid of honor posted to TikTok. “This is hard work … it’s okay to assess whether you can do it.”

One Redditor wished they had spoken up before being subjected to an over-the-top bridesmaid proposal. “I really felt forced to say yes because I was handed a box of goodies including a personalized wine glass, and asked at the same time as others, in front of a room full of people,” they said. “It [was] so not me, I was really bummed that my friend didn’t know me well enough not to ask me like that.”

“Being in someone’s wedding is much more expensive than simply attending,” Chicago-based wedding planner, Kia Marie, says. “It can cost $4,000 or $5,000 or more, between the dress, the makeup, the bachelorette party, travel expenses, staying in a hotel for multiple days — that’s not money that anyone should take lightly.”

Hey … [Repeatedly taps a fork on a wine glass] … before this all ends in shredded peonies and a shattered champagne tower at some Airbnb villa in the South of France, can we agree to bring normal weddings back? We’re trying to get good people hitched, not gatekeep marriage for the .01%. 

Here comes everyone to tell us they got married in a trash bag in the alleyway behind the courthouse for $18 and they’ve been happily married for 90 years. (Okay, maybe that’s not for everyone.) But a 70% increase in elopements shows more couples are going for intentional, personal, and often more affordable weddings. 

Others are skipping the formal ceremony in favor of relaxed parties (and exchanging rings privately). Potluck buffets, dual-purpose engagement-to-wedding bands, and bespoke cakes all signal smaller wedding day budgets — and savings that get passed down to bridesmaids-turned-guests of honor. 

If all goes well, the whole crew gets to spend a day celebrating the ultimate commitment between two of their favorite people. And pretend like they’re hearing “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri at a wedding for the very first time, till death do us part.