Weddings abroad cost guests £1,139

Nearly 8 million Brits have travelled abroad to attend a wedding in the last five years, spending an average of £1,139 each on travel, accommodation, gifts and special wedding outfits, according to new research from Sainsbury's Travel Insurance.  This adds up to a whopping £8.9 billion spend over the past five years or £1.8 billion each year.

And the trend for weddings abroad looks set to continue with nearly 500,000 Brits saying that they have made plans to have their own wedding abroad in the near future and just over 1.5 million people saying they have made plans to attend one as a guest.

Over one million people (14%) who have been to a wedding abroad in the past five years claim they spent more than £2,500 and just over 500,000 (7%) spent over £4,000. These amounts include spend on travel and accommodation by the happy couples themselves, but not the cost of their big day or honeymoon.

Despite the expense of such trips, the supermarket bank's research reveals that nearly a third (29%) of those travelling abroad for a wedding, including many brides and grooms, do not take out travel insurance. This oversight is leaving many exposed to significant financial losses should they or a member of their party fall ill and be unable to travel or they suffer from lost or stolen baggage.

The main reason people gave for not taking out travel insurance for their wedding-holiday combo is that they don't want the added expense (35%). This is followed by the fact that it is only a short trip abroad so they didn't think it was necessary (22%) and the chances of having to make a claim are small (18%). Just over one in ten (13%) say that they didn't consider it to be a real holiday so it didn't occur to them to take out insurance.

Scott Gorman at Sainsbury's Travel Insurance comments: "Weddings abroad are popular and the cost of these overseas celebrations are clearly far more expensive than just a typical holiday, so it's even more important for couples - and guests - to ensure they are fully protected well before they travel. Should the unimaginable happen, having no travel insurance could make the big day memorable for all the wrong reasons."

Londoners are the most likely to go abroad for a wedding with 25% saying they have been as a guest in the past five years. By contrast, just 7% of people living in the East Midlands and 9% of Scots have been to an overseas wedding during this period.

For those planning a few trips abroad, a holiday as well as the wedding maybe, multi-trip travel insurance could work out cheaper. Sainsbury's multi-trip travel insurance offers:

1/3 off online discount - exclusive to Nectar card holders 
15% online discount even if you don't have a Nectar card
Take any number of trips per year - up to 60 days each
Scheduled airline failure cover with our Standard option
Tailor your medical care to meet your needs

To obtain a Sainsbury's Travel Insurance, visit sainsburysbank.co.uk.