Destination weddings: should you still buy a gift after forking out on travel

Millennials across Australia are in the thick of their wedding guest era and discovering the steep cost of attending celebrations. And destination weddings are the most expensive of them all.

So, what is gift-giving etiquette when international travel is involved?

Wedding planner Natalie Hagopian said that cash was "always preferred" at a destination wedding, so couples weren't lugging home heavy crystal bowls in their carry-on bags.

"While it's still customary to offer something, the expectation for a large or extravagant gift at a destination wedding is significantly lower," she said.

"Many couples will explicitly state 'your presence is our gift!' on their wedding website or invitation, acknowledging the substantial financial and time commitment involved for guests."

A guest forks out hundreds of dollars on the average wedding gift, the 2025 Australian Wedding Industry Report found.

A close friend or relative will spend an average of $288 on a wedding present, while other guests tend to spend $159.

Close friends and family are spending around $50 more on a gift in 2025 compared to the year before, the report found.

One frequent wedding attendee from Geelong said he's stopped giving gifts in favour of cold, hard cash.

"Most couples who get married already live together, so they don't need to be bought random stuff for the house," he said.

"I think the unspoken rule for cash is usually to pay for your seat, meal and drinks, so [he and his wife] give $250 to $300 for the two of us."

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More than ever, couples are asking for cash instead of gifts, the wedding industry report found.

A whopping 90 per cent of couples had a wishing well for cash gifts at their reception.

Only one per cent of couples were prompting guests to buy a present from a gift registry, while nine per cent set up a honeymoon registry.

Wedding planner Sharon Munro said wishing wells "have become very popular and are even included in many venue packages".

But she said couples were starting to "think outside the box" when requesting gifts from their guests.

"Some couples set up experience funds where guests can contribute to things like cooking classes, scuba diving, or guided tours during the honeymoon," she said.

"Others opt for charity donations, asking guests to donate to a cause that's meaningful to them in lieu of gifts."

Most Australian couples spent around $8,000 more on their wedding than they intended. The average original wedding budget is $27,455, and this figure ballooned to $35,315 by the big day.

Couples planning a destination wedding saved some money, with the average cost reaching $29,391, the report found.

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Part of the reduced cost could be the smaller guest list, with 74 people attending an average destination wedding, as opposed to 88 guests at a domestic celebration.

The majority of Australian couples, 91 per cent, got married at or near home.

Just two per cent got hitched overseas, and seven per cent got married in another state or territory, according to the report.

Couples are travelling the world to tie the knot, with the top wedding destinations being New Zealand, the United States, Fiji, Italy, Indonesia, Greece, the United Kingdom, India, and South Africa.

While couples may expect to receive an influx of cash on their wedding day, Ms Munro said most couples were not "counting on gifts of money to cover costs".

She said it was "risky and could lead to financial stress if expectations aren't met". Instead, couples tended to plan their wedding based on what they could afford.

"Wishing wells offer couples the freedom to use the contributions however they choose - whether it's for items they genuinely need, specific brands they prefer, their honeymoon, or even putting money toward their rent or mortgage."