Attending a wedding can cost as much as rent, Zillow report finds

It’s no secret that many young adults struggle financially, especially when it comes to paying for a home. Marriages can make the problem worse for some.

The typical monthly rent, which reflects rent prices for multifamily and single-family rentals, was $2,007 in August, up 2.4% from a year earlier, according to Zillow.

Another recent report from the housing site found that attending a single wedding and bachelor or bachelorette weekend can cost $2,010.

“It’s really eye-opening to put it right next to rent,” said Amanda Pendleton, home trends expert at Zillow.

Some tenants will go to extreme lengths to attend such milestone events. About 45% of Gen Z and millennial adults surveyed said they had made a housing sacrifice to afford such celebrations, Zillow found.

Among those trade-offs: About 11% of respondents said they live with roommates, while 9% said they are saving less for a down payment. Still others said they were renting or buying a smaller home, at 8% and 7%, respectively.

The site surveyed 1,200 U.S. adults ages 18 to 45 in mid-August. Generation Z are those aged 18 to 30, and Generation Y are those aged 31 to 45.

“It’s just a tangible way to show how these celebrations can disrupt housing stability,” Pendleton said.

Receiving multiple invitations in a short period of time can amplify the effect.

Housing unaffordability has kept many millennials and GenZers out of the sales market, making them renters for much longer.

The median sales price for an existing home was $422,600 in August, according to a report released in late September by the National Association of Realtors. This represents a 2% increase from the previous year, when the price was $414,200.

By 2024, the NAR found that the median age of first-time home buyers had reached an all-time high of 38 years. In the 1980s, the typical first buyer was in their 20s.

However, marriages take place before people become property owners. In 2025, the average age of marriage in the United States is 32, according to The Knot, a marriage website. This average has remained the same since 2023.

While it’s easy to get caught up in wedding-related celebrations, it’s important not to stress your finances, experts say.

You should also be careful when using forms of credit. By 2024, about 31% of wedding guests took on debt to attend a wedding, and 23% of those who did so borrowed $2,500 or more, according to LendingTree.

Fortunately, many engaged couples send out wedding dates six months to a year in advance, said Gloria Garcia Cisneros, a certified financial planner and wealth manager at LourdMurray in Los Angeles.

If you get enough notice, find ways to reallocate the money you usually spend on discretionary expenses into a separate savings account, said Cisneros, a member of CNBC’s Council of Financial Advisors. Cisneros said keeping the money in a separate account to avoid the temptation to use it in advance.

To grow your savings, a high-yield savings account typically offers a much higher annual percentage return than traditional savings accounts.

While the Federal Reserve recently cut interest rates, the top 1% of accounts averaged 4.03%, according to DepositAccounts. The national average for savings accounts is 0.49%.

If you’re invited to multiple weddings in a year and buying a home is a priority, you may need to consider other compromises, like deciding which weddings to attend and which to avoid.

Between travel, accommodations, attire and gifts, the average cost per wedding guest in 2024 was $610, according to The Knot. This represents an increase of $180 over the last five years.