Eighty-seven percent of couples are now adding cash funds to their wedding registries instead of relying solely on gift lists, according to new research from Zola. More strikingly, 27% of couples this year say they’re using that cash to help cover the wedding itself, up from just 16% who said the same in 2025.
The shift reflects both a change in etiquette and a change in need. Ninety-one percent of couples now believe requesting cash is “totally acceptable,” per Zola’s data, a sharp break from the once-firm rule that gift requests should stay off the invitation. But couples are also leaning on registry cash because wedding costs keep climbing: the average U.S. wedding now runs about $36,000, according to Zola, a figure that roughly matches the $34,000 average and $292-per-guest spend reported separately by The Knot Worldwide’s own 2026 Real Weddings Study.
- 87% of couples are adding cash funds to their registry, per Zola
- 27% are using registry cash to pay for wedding costs in 2026, up from 16% in 2025
- 91% of couples say asking for cash is now fully acceptable
- 59% are deferring a home purchase and 70% are pausing regular savings to afford their wedding
The money isn’t just paying for centerpieces and open bar. Zola’s data shows couples are increasingly treating the wedding as one line item in a much longer financial plan. Fifty-nine percent of couples say they’re deferring a home purchase specifically to afford their wedding, 52% report postponing other life milestones altogether, and 38% are delaying debt or student loan payments.
“Registry trends are shifting to match the reality of modern life,” said Samantha Kobrin, Zola’s director of brand, in the company’s report. “Since many couples already live together, they typically have the basics covered. Now, they’re opting for a blended strategy: upgrading to investment pieces for the home while including cash funds for travel and future financial milestones.”
That blended approach helps explain why the traditional registry hasn’t disappeared, even as cash requests have become the norm. Couples are still asking for big-ticket home items, just alongside a cash fund that increasingly does double duty: honeymoon money for some couples, wedding-cost coverage for a fast-growing share of others.
For guests, the shift changes the etiquette calculus too. A cash fund with a specific, named purpose — the honeymoon, a down payment on furniture, or in a growing share of cases the wedding balance itself — tends to feel more comfortable to contribute to than an open-ended request for money, according to Zola’s own guidance for couples setting up a registry, since it gives the gift a concrete destination rather than an abstract one.
