Weddings are expensive! According to The Knot, the average cost of a wedding including the engagement ring in 2020 was over $33,000.1 This includes the venue, photographer, and a long list of other things, but what it does not include is the cost of being a groomsman which is typically paid for by the groomsmen themselves.
In this blog post, I’m going to go over my actual expenses for the 6 weddings that I was a groomsman for since 2017, give you an idea of what costs are involved and compare my average cost to the national average cost.
Cost of Being a Groomsman
There are numerous costs to being a groomsman in a wedding. Here are some of the most common ones.
1. Tuxedo
One of the biggest expenses for a groomsman will be a tuxedo rental.
For me personally, the cost of my tux’s ranged from $118 all the way up to $235 with an average cost of $183.
2. Travel
Oftentimes you have to travel to attend a wedding, and this can get just as expensive. Luckily, I never had to buy a plane ticket for a wedding, but you could imagine that this would quickly up your cost.
For me, the average cost was $184 for 1 or 2 nights in a hotel room.
A great way to save some money here is to split the cost of a hotel room with other groomsmen or wedding guests which I have certainly done quite a few times.
3. Wedding Gift
Next up we have wedding gifts, and this will certainly vary depending on a lot of factors.
For me, I gifted the bride and groom either $100 in cash or got them something valued at $100 from their registry.
4. Bachelor Party
In addition to the tux rental, hotel, and wedding gift, there are certainly other expenses that a groomsman will incur, but the most significant is probably the bachelor party. Not all grooms have bachelor parties, and if they do, they could be anywhere from a night out at a local bar to an extended weekend in Vegas.
I attended 3 bachelor parties, one of which involved flying to Vegas, and the average cost was $691.
Average Cost of Being a Groomsman
So not considering the bachelor party expenses right now, let’s figure out the average cost of being a groomsman in my experience.
Considering the tux, hotel room, and wedding gifts, the average cost of being a groomsman for me was $493 per wedding.
| Wedding | Tux | Hotel | Gifts | Bachelor Party | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2017 | $214.64 | $129.71 | $100.00 | $304.00 | $753.35 |
| Aug 2017 | $176.49 | $216.42 | $200.00 | $1,619.59 | $2,282.50 |
| Oct 2018 | $174.36 | $258.77 | $100.00 | $0.00 | $533.13 |
| Dec 2018 | $235.31 | $201.14 | $100.00 | $150.82 | $721.77 |
| Jun 2019 | $118.50 | $150.00 | $98.17 | $0.00 | $316.67 |
| Sep 2020 | $179.49 | $151.20 | $100.00 | $0.00 | $430.69 |
| Average | $183.13 | $184.54 | $116.36 | $691.47 | $839.69 |
Now how does this compare to the national average?
Although different sources vary, it seems to be on par with 20somethingfinance.com which estimates the average cost of being a groomsman to be $405 whereas huffpost estimates that groomsmen spent an average of $445 on the bachelor party alone.2
When we factor in the cost of my bachelor parties, my average bumps up to $839 per wedding to be a groomsman.
How to Save Money As a Groomsman
Knowing this, how can you cut costs and save money as a groomsman?
- One of the best ways is to split the cost of a hotel room with other groomsmen or wedding guests
- If traveling and you have a good amount of lead time, you can start scouting out the cheapest flights months in advance
- A lot of tuxedo rentals are done at Men’s Warehouse, so if that’s the case for you, you can use Rakuten to get at least 2% off your tux rental online
- Sign up for the Perfect Fit rewards program at Men’s Warehouse which at one point got me $50 off one of my tux rentals
It’s a true honor to stand beside your friend or relative as they get married, so enjoy it and I hope you found the information in this blog post helpful.
