For better or for worse (for wear). Photograph: Michael Walter/PA
New research published today that suggests wedding guests spend an average of £300 per head per wedding is no surprise to me. To be honest, I'm surprised it's not more.
You might think women spend the most on going to weddings - what with the fancy hats and everything - but it's actually men who shell out more. The study suggests men are more likely to spend more on gifts, an average of £65, compared to women who spend £50.
But it's the stag dos that really make men's bank managers wince. The study, for Maestro debit cards, says stag dos cost at least £30 more than hen-dos. But I suspect it's even higher.
A straw poll of the office finds that most of the male employees have been hit with some very pricey stag dos recently – especially because of the rise of budget-airlines and the fad of the "Foreign Stag Do".
There seems to be a recurring refrain of: "I know let's go to Barcelona and watch Barca play Real Madrid. And then out on the razzler dazzler on Las Ramblas."
Now, don't get me wrong, I love my friends. But I once came back from a stag do in Edinburgh, my liver swollen like a basketball, and my wallet about £500 lighter and that was for just two nights of boozing, which to me, seemed like quite a lot.
It seemed like every 30 minutes the best man was asking for more money for the "drink kitty". I won't even get into burning my mouth with those flaming Sambucas.
Nobody in the office wanted to go on the record for fear of upsetting anyone. But one unnamed colleague, who is looking down the barrel of a £1,000 stag do / wedding trip next month, said:
In my experience stag nights are always at least £500. It's less that I'm tight but that they always come up at a time when you are trying to pay for a longer holiday.
I could not afford a proper holiday last year because of the pricey stag weekends, and I seemed to be forever wandering around somewhere's Old Town with a bunch of pissed mates. Unsurprisingly, my guidebook outlining all the local sights remained unopened.
I have one friend who was going to get married but he's delayed it, partly because of the cost. He had started with grand plans for the stag do but said recently: "I know, let's just all meet up at a Wetherspoons and take it from there."
Wise words. And think of the extra cash you will have for the flaming Sambucas.
