MW I've been invited to two weddings in India. How much will this end up costing me?
By Aditi Shrikant
'This is my first time going to a wedding as an adult'
"I think I'll need to rent or buy four outfits." (Photo subjects are models.)
Dear Dollar Signs,
I have two weddings coming up this year, and this will be my first time attending a wedding as an adult. Both are in Bengaluru, and each lasts three to four days with accommodations provided. Both are Indian weddings, so I think I'll need to rent or buy four outfits.
One is at the end of November, and the other is at the beginning of January, so I'm wondering how much I should expect to budget. I'll be paying for my flights from New York City, and I assume I'll also need to get them wedding gifts. Please advise.
Good Guest
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Dear Guest,
Oh, I love weddings. I grew up attending many Indian weddings, so I know you'll have the best time. I haven't, however, ever needed to rent clothes and nor have I attended an Indian wedding that was actually held in India. Whether you like it or not, this will be expensive. There's no getting around that.
Your accommodations being covered is a huge financial relief, but this celebration will be on the pricier side as flight prices right now are high. The conflict between Israel and Iran has pushed fuel prices higher, and certain airspaces over the Middle East are reportedly unsafe, resulting in Air India cutting many of its U.S.-bound routes. In other words, fares are high and there are fewer flights.
You should take Google Flights' $(GOOG)$( GOOGL)analysis with a grain of salt, as its price predictions are based on historical data and don't account for geopolitical events. That said, aim to purchase tickets for both of these weddings before September or October, says Katy Nastro, a travel-industry expert at the flight price-tracking company Going.
To travel off-peak, she says, book two to eight months in advance: "Take advantage of that Goldilocks window." Booking more than eight months in advance - a mistake many travellers make - or waiting until too close to departure can both result in higher prices. Two to eight months prior to your flight is the "sweet spot" to get a deal, she says.
At the time of writing, flights for the last week of November and the first week of January range from $900 to $1,400, according to Kayak. Based on these prices, I would budget about $2,800 for flights.
Be sure to get a refundable ticket. If prices do drop, you can call the airline and have them rebook your flights at the lower fare and receive flight credit for the difference.
"Start looking now, but set up price alerts to watch the fares for you, then just make sure to get something locked in around the two-month-out mark," she says. "Anything below $900 would be a reasonable price; anything below $800 would be a good deal under our thresholds."
Clothing rentals
Now let's look at the price of renting clothes. Searching on sites like AllBorrow and Borrow the Bazaar, the standard price to rent one outfit for eight days is between $120 and $200. Let's say you rent four outfits at $150 each. That's $600 per wedding, or $1,200 across both weddings.
Just accounting for rental clothes and flights, you should expect to spend about $4,000 for both weddings. The amount you spend on a wedding gift can vary based on how close you are with each couple, but I wouldn't go lower than $100 per wedding.
As someone who has been to many Indian weddings, I can pretty confidently say that you will be well fed. So while I'm sure you'll want to explore restaurants outside the wedding festivities, I don't think you'll need to spend that much money on food if you don't want to. According to Budget Your Trip, the average person who is not attending a wedding spends $19 per day on food. You'll also probably want to shop, so I would plan for that cost, too.
With every trip, I like to build an "uh-oh" fund. Delays happen, and you might need to pay to switch flights. The state of the world makes cancellations even more likely. To make sure you arrive in time for each wedding, I'd save the price of one round-trip ticket just in case you need to make a costly flight change.
Travel insurance can be invaluable if your trip is interrupted or cancelled. This typically costs between 4% and 7% of your total flight cost. Medical coverage might also be smart, which costs travellers an average of $16 a day, according to Squaremouth.
Hopefully, you won't need it, but knowing it's there should provide some peace of mind.
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-Aditi Shrikant
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June 09, 2026 08:01 ET (12:01 GMT)
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