In great news for travel advisors, loved-up Aussies are increasingly opting to scrimp on wedding costs to splurge on bigger and better honeymoons with 65 per cent preferring to save for a domestic or international trip instead of over-the-top nuptials.
With average wedding costs in Australia around $36,000, research shows 82 per cent of Aussies are forced to dip into their savings to pay for their perfect day, often exceeding their budget by 18 per cent.
The latest survey by Insure&Go travel insurance found nine in 10 respondents (88%) owned up to wishing they spent less on their wedding with a clear generational consensus among Aussies.
Over-50s were most in favour of ditching a big-budget wedding with 90 per cent admitting to buyer’s remorse compared to 43 per cent of Gen X and Millennials.
More than half of unmarried under-30s (58%) would also prefer to spend less to tie the knot.
Aussies say “I do” to travel
The research also found Aussies continue to prioritise travel with 84 per cent of under-30s keen to use their wedding savings on a bigger and better domestic or international honeymoon with 50 per cent preferring to head overseas.
Two in three Aussies (68%) aged 31-50 years would also prefer to save for a honeymoon over a wedding with 39 per cent keen to head overseas.
Of the more than half of over-50s (53%) who would prefer to spend more on a post-nuptial holiday than the big day, 30 per cent of would opt for a domestic honeymoon over an overseas trip (23%).
Honeymoon hotspots
Need some inspo? Tripadvisor’s trending global honeymoon spots for 2024 are unsurprisingly dominated by romantic island retreats.
The top 10 honeymoon destinations worldwide are Bali, Hoi An, Maldives, Dominican Republic, Mauritius, Khao Lak (site of the recent 2024 TTM+ trade event), Jamaica, Santorini, Zanzibar and Venice.
Insure&Go also found Aussies would still travel for family and friends’ weddings abroad with cost of living pressures and high airfares no deterrent.
