Most Canadians would skip a wedding to buy a home, survey finds

Most Canadians would rather scale back their wedding than be priced out of the housing market, a new Royal LePage survey has found.

The poll, conducted by Burson, found 82 per cent of respondents would forgo or significantly cut back a wedding to put money toward a down payment. Nearly eight in 10 said they would consider asking for down payment contributions in lieu of traditional gifts. And when asked to name the most important purchase of a person’s lifetime, 83 per cent said a home.

The findings land as the average Canadian wedding runs more than $45,000 before rings or a honeymoon, according to The Knot’s 2025 Global Wedding Report.

“While a wedding is a beautiful one- or two-day event, a home is a lifetime investment,” said Anne-Elise Cugliari Allegritti, vice president of research and communications at Royal LePage.

B.C. leads in prioritizing keys over rings

British Columbia had the highest share of respondents willing to redirect wedding funds. Some 86 per cent said they would consider requesting down payment contributions as a gift, and 54 per cent — the highest rate nationally — said they would definitely skip or scale back a wedding to buy. Among married B.C. respondents, 66 per cent said they would have made that trade-off in hindsight.

Ontario and Atlantic Canada were close behind. In Ontario, 84 per cent said they would consider requesting down payment gifts and 86 per cent would cut wedding spending for a home. Atlantic Canada saw 82 per cent willing to scale back, with 55 per cent saying definitely. Alberta tracked slightly below average on willingness to redirect gifts, though 64 per cent of married Albertans said they would have scaled back their wedding looking back.

Quebec was the clear outlier. Only 69 per cent would consider requesting down payment gifts — the lowest in the country — and just 67 per cent said they would scale back a wedding. Quebec also has Canada’s lowest rates of both marriage and homeownership, and agents in the province say some couples are bypassing the question altogether by purchasing investment properties in recreational markets while renting their primary residence in the city.

Elopements and equity

In Calgary, agents report more couples opting for backyard receptions or mountain elopements after funnelling savings into a first home. In Vancouver, it’s increasingly common for both partners to have been renting before buying together. In Halifax, gifted down payments from family are becoming routine, and couples are postponing honeymoons or choosing smaller ceremonies to prioritize equity.

In Toronto, agents point to the First Home Savings Account as a practical tool for couples juggling both goals, offering tax advantages while building toward a down payment.

Of those already married, 57 per cent said they would have preferred down payment contributions over wedding gifts. Only 10 per cent said they actually asked.

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