Would you pay $600 for a royal wedding invite?

With the royal wedding just days away, chances of receiving an invite are about as slim as the likelihood that Lady Gaga and the pope will hook up. But given the chance, would you be willing to pay for an invite?

A new survey reports three out of five Americans would fork over $600 to attend the royal wedding. American Express posed the hypothetical question and turned up some interesting results. Apparently, live YouTube coverage of the royal wedding is not enough. Fans want to see Prince William of Wales marry Kate Middleton in person.

“While very few will be able to see William and Kate tie the knot in person, millions of Americans are planning to splurge on weddings this year,” said a representative of American Express. “Our data shows that Americans attend an average of two weddings per year and are spending nearly $1,000 on attire, transportation and other expenses — not including the gift.”

cost breakdown

Where does all that money go? Here’s the cost breakdown for guests and wedding participants:

• Dressing up ($113 when participating in wedding; $64 when attending as guest)
• Hotel ($106)
• Transportation ($96)
• Dining out ($70)
• Pre-wedding party, i.e., bachelor/bachelorette ($56)
• Jewelry ($47)
• Arrangements for children/pets ($26)
• Other expenses ($24)

Maybe that $600 royal wedding ticket isn’t such a bad deal after all. Again, you could also stream the nuptials on YouTube for free. Just saying.

9 better ways to spend $600

Here’s what we plan to do with the $600 we won’t be spending on a royal wedding invitation:

• Massage so that we’re nice and relaxed for the YouTube date ($100)
• New set of sinfully comfortable pajamas ($40)
• Obnoxious fuzzy slippers we’d never admit to owning but secretly love ($20)
• Snackage — chips, chocolate, cavier ($30)
• Kleenex to sop up the tears of joy ($5)
• Tank of gas so we can get to work next week ($80)
• New earrings to commemorate the day ($200)
• Bottle of champagne to toast the newlyweds ($25)
• Housecleaning service to come in and pick up after our drunk mess ($100)

MORE ROYAL WEDDING HOOPLA:

Royal wedding video goes viral
5 Weirdest royal wedding inspired products
Prince William and Kate Middleton‘s wedding invitation