I AM at "that” age; my feed on Facebook and Instagram is filled with wedding photos, engagements, pregnancies, babies being born and house buying.

In the past week, I've had seven people in my friends list become engaged. #congrats

The happy news is always announced with a "candid” photo, showcasing the glittering jewel which will embellish their finger for the rest of their lives, or until they divorce - which statistics say is quite likely.

I've got a stack of engagement, hens and wedding invitations to sift through, and deciding which couples will be lucky enough to be graced with my presence has been tricky. (Not really, it's based on when the cheapest flights are.)

All I can say, is THANK GOODNESS Jetstar is on Afterpay.

It comes at a time in my life, where I've had to swallow my pride and send a polite text to my poor father, asking for an early birthday present that looks a lot like a lump sum that matches what my car registration costs.

It's safe to say if I can't afford my rego, I'm definitely not in the market to pay for a wedding and until now, I've been blissfully ignorant about how much weddings can actually cost - for all parties involved.

Australian Securities and Investment Commission released a report in 2013 which suggested the average wedding in Australia costs $36,200.

According to a survey by Bride to Be magazine, the average cost of a wedding in Australia in 2017 was $65,482.

As always at weddings, whispers sweep through marquees and venues adorned with flowers, fairy lights and candles with "guestimates” and from what my little ears have picked up, the later is more accurate.

The person I was seated next to at the most recent wedding I attended, berated me for not eating all my food.

"It's $200 a head here, they've paid for your meal,” she quipped, as she downed her umpteenth glass of sparkling wine.

I rarely get annoyed, but I felt a prickling on the back of my neck, as I thought, yes, they've paid for my meal, but I've taken annual leave and paid an eye watering amount for flights to be here, and given them a cash present, and I flew to the engagement party and gave a present, not to mention the hens weekend.

And then I remembered how lucky I am, that my friends value me enough, to invite me to be present at the most important day of their lives so far.

You can't put a price on love, and with that in mind I had one more mouthful of chicken.