Gifts are getting more elaborate

Buying for the big day

Wedding guests are spending more than a billion pounds a year on gifts for the happy couple and the figure is going up.

Research from on-line banking company First Direct has revealed that the average spend on a wedding gift has increased from £47 to £51 in the last 12 months.

This is a total increase of £129 million on the figure for last year.

A UK wedding – on average - has 96 guests, creating a total gift value of just under £5,000.

Across the country – with an estimated 241,100 weddings annually - a total of around £1.2 billion is now being spent on gifts for the newlyweds.

Research shows that younger generations are more generous than the over 55s as they spend an average of £63 on each gift. Those aged 55-64 are less keen to part with their cash, only spending £46 in comparison.

Surprisingly, men spend more on wedding gifts than women. Men splash out an average of £61 compared to £41 for women.

Guests from Kent are spending an average of £55 per gift while across the country Londoners are the most generous wedding invitees, paying out an average of £80 on gifts. Residents in the North East spend the least at just under £38.

Bruno Genovese, Senior Savings Product Manager at First Direct, p-art of the HSBC group, said: “We all know that paying for a wedding is expensive for the father of the bride, or the couple if they are paying for it themselves.

“However, it can also be expensive to be a guest especially when you take into consideration the cost of a new outfit, a stay in a hotel and drinks at the reception.

“If you’re lucky enough to have lots of friends and family getting married, now might be the time to start saving.”