Til debt do we part: Hong Kong wedding now costs more than HK$300,000 on average
Inflation has hit weddings. Couples tying the knot are expecting bigger cash gifts from banquet-goers as a survey finds that the HK$1,000 guideline has been topped for the first time,.
The survey by e-commerce website ESDlife, which collected online answers from 1,162 individuals who are getting married between this year and 2017, also found that the average cost of a wedding is now HK$313,933, 1 per cent higher than last year’s figure. This includes money spent on wedding preparations.
READ MORE: Why Hong Kong couples are opting for no-frills weddings
Newly weds and those getting married soon said in the survey that guests attending banquets held in five-star hotels should pay at least HK$1,200 in gift money, a jump from the HK$1,000 price tag for “an admission ticket” recorded in the survey from 2011 to 2014.
For hotels below five-star, HK$1,000 cash gifts are now expected - against HK$800 from 2011 to 2014.
For quality and standard restaurants, the expected gift remains HK$800 and HK$600 respectively.
The survey said the average wedding expenditure had risen slightly despite the gloomy economic outlook and a downturn in the retail industry.
The survey estimated that people spent a total of HK$17.7 billion on weddings this year - similar to last year.
The banquet was the costliest item, costing on average HK$159,629 per couple or HK$9 billion for all weddings this year.
This was followed by rings and jewellery - with an average spending of HK$50,898 and estimated market total of HK$2.9 billion.
Honeymoons - average spending HK$38,353 - and pre-wedding photography - at HK$23,400 - came third and fourth. The estimated total amount spent on these items was HK$2.2 billion and HK$1.3 billion respectively.
Meanwhile, a survey by the Diamond Federation of Hong Kong showed that 95 per cent of respondents expected natural diamonds for their engagement ring, and about half of female respondents said a natural diamond ring was more important than the honeymoon, wedding gifts or wedding parties.
The poll was carried out among 1,000 Hongkongers between mid-October and November 9.
