Hundreds of lovers arranged their nuptials for 20 February 2020, a “magical” date that includes only zeros and twos, both in Ukraine and Russia. But how much will it cost to get married in Ukraine in 2020?

The cost of a wedding in Ukraine

Weddings are known to be expensive, although the average price may differ greatly not just by country but also by city. Ukrainian celebrations are not an exception in this regard.

Apparently, the cheapest way to say, “I do” in Ukraine costs only 0.85 hryvnia (USD 0.035), Segodnya reported. It is the fee of the government registration for Ukrainian citizens. This means you come to the department of registrations and sign the register.

• But if you want a ceremony, then the price of the service in Kiev’s registration departments comes up to 400-800 hryvnia ($16-32). On average, in afternoons a ceremony of marriage registration happens in Kiev’s offices every half an hour.
• There are also private registration offices that offer express marriage. It is the program that allows Ukrainians to get married within 24 hours after the application. Such ceremonies include champagne and snacks for the guests, and altogether cost around 15,000 hryvnia ($610). Many couples opt for this variant, as it includes all the decorations, finger food for the guests and some drinks, which is much cheaper than arranging a reception.
• Catering is usually about 800-1500 hryvnia per person ($32-61), in case of a reception in a restaurant.
• Dress would cost the bride about 10,000-20,000 hrvynia ($407-814).
• The cheapest rings are around 1,000 hryvnia ($40) for one. Traditionally this was the type of rings Ukrainian newlyweds purchased, but now some couples want a more extravagant version that plain gold bands.
• If the groom splashes out on a diamond ring for the bride, he spends around 5-7 thousand hryvnia ($203-284). Obviously, the diamond will be pretty small.

Basically, Ukrainian weddings are arranged on rather tight budgets as compared to celebrations in western countries such as the USA, where the average cost of nuptials has reached $34,000.

It’s possible to get married in Ukraine for under $1, but if you want a ceremony and a wedding reception for a group of guests, then it would cost minimum $2,000-3,000.

Location matters

The cost of a wedding in Ukraine also largely depends on the city. Odessa, Kiev, and Lviv are more expensive. In these locations couples spend usually from 80,000 hryvnia ($3,250), which would include a reception for 30 guests. The bill for food and drinks comes to about 1,000 hryvnia per person ($40), around 25,000 UAH ($1,000) is spent on decorations, photos, and video. The other expenses are on outfits for groom and bride, cars, etc.

In Kharkiv a wedding for 30 people could be arranged for 50,000 hryvnia ($2,000).

Read also:

• Brides from Ukraine — What you need to know
• Why there are more brides than grooms in Ukraine
• How often do Ukrainian women marry foreigners?
• 4 in 10 Ukrainians would like to move abroad forever