The Knot Worldwide conducts research with over 300,000 couples, guests, and wedding professionals globally to provide a comprehensive view of 2023 trends. Between 1991 and 2019, the marriage rate in England and Wales fell from 36 marriages to 36. In the US, 2.3 million couples wed every year, with nearly 6,200 weddings a day. The average age of a bride is 25.3, and the average age of a groom is 26.9. Most weddings have less than 200 guests, with the average being 167. July is the fifth most in-demand month to get married, with 9.6% of weddings happening in 2022.
Couples in the United States spend the most on weddings, with an average cost of 29.2 thousand U.S. dollars as of 2019. Spain and Italy followed, with the latest data on new marriages available from the National Center for Health Statistics for 2021. Weddings may take place anywhere, but it has been customary to hold them in certain locations.
Micro weddings, which are composed of fewer than 30 people, are often attended by only Amish couples, with close non-Amish friends sometimes attending and seated together for a meal. Amish wedding cakes vary in detail depending on the community and couple.
In 2022, there will be 2.5 million weddings, the most since 1984, and it’s never been more difficult to plan. Traditional open bars offer a selection of beer, wine, and basic liquors, but rentable tables and chairs can be reasonably priced.
The primary function of a wedding ceremony is to provide the bride and groom an opportunity to make promises to one another, which form the basis of their marriage and give officiating clergy the right to declare them husband and wife.
📹 Why are weddings so damn expensive?
A wedding videographer explains the bizarre economics of your big day. Listen to NPR’s Planet Money on why wedding dresses …
How common are weddings?
Here are the top US wedding stats. 2.3 million couples get married in the US every year. That’s about 6,200 weddings a day! Couples invite about 178 guests on average to their wedding. The average bride is about 25 when she marries, while the groom is about 27.
How the Coronavirus Changed Weddings in the United States. The coronavirus pandemic changed the world economy, and the wedding industry was affected. Of couples who planned to marry in 2020, 21% postponed their wedding due to the coronavirus. 41.5% of 2020 weddings were moved to 2021, while 7% were canceled. 30.5% of couples kept their 2020 wedding date.
Is Gen Z less monogamous?
Most Gen Z people (59%) said they would consider a non-monogamous relationship. But why? Reckon spoke with Paul Keable and Leanne Yau. What makes Gen Z different? The data on cheating in married relationships is all over the place. Some sources say it happens in 20 to 70% of marriages. “People think all polyamorous people cheat on their partners, but that’s not true,” said Yau, who is non-monogamous. “People think it’s not okay for a partner to be with someone else. Some people are fine with it. You don’t have to hide it from your partner.
What percent of people don’t come to wedding?
People often don’t accept wedding invitations for many reasons. About 10-20% of people may not come, but this can change.
How common is it to not get married?
Since 1960, the number of unmarried U.S. adults has doubled, from 15% to 31% (Marino, 2023a).
Family Profile No. 13, 2023 Since 1960, the share of never-married U.S. adults has doubled from 15% to 31% (Marino, 2023a). The median age of never-married adults has risen since 1970 (Marino, 2023b), and the percentage of never-married middle-aged adults has increased since 1970 (NCFMR analysis of 2021 American Community Survey 1-year estimates). These trends show that more and more people are getting older and never married. This Family Profile details the percentage of mid-life never married adults in the United States. It also shows how these percentages vary across states.
Percentages of Mid-Life Never Married Adults, 1900-2021.
Are Gen Z more likely to be single?
A look at dating statistics for Millennials and Gen Z. Most millennials choose to be single. They value freedom and independence. 75% of Gen Z are single. 44% of millennials are married. Millennials spend an average of two hours a day on dating apps. 74% of millennials and Gen Zers use dating apps. 90% of Gen Z say they are frustrated with dating apps. The most popular reason for ghosting is to avoid confrontation.56% of women and men have been ghosted. 29% of millennials and Gen Z have married at the same age as 59% of older generations. 30% of millennials and Gen Z say that their financial situation is holding them back from dating. Gen Z is having less casual sex than previous generations. 24% of Gen Zers have casual sex. Attitudes to cheating and open relationships are more liberal. Many people want a monogamous or non-monogamous relationship.
Millennial dating statistics. How many millennials are single? How many millennials are married? These dating stats show how dating has changed. Here, you’ll learn the most important dating habits of millennials. Read on! Millennials value freedom and independence. 72% choose to be single for a while. (Tinder); 44% of millennials are married. 53% of Gen X, 61% of Boomers, and 81% of Silents were married at a comparable age. 81% say being single benefits them. They can make new friends, have more time for personal wellness, and be more dedicated to their work. (Tinder); 77% of older millennials want a serious relationship, while 75% of younger millennials do too. (eHarmony): The most common first date activity is coffee (47.2%). (Bustle)
Why does Gen Z not want to get married?
Gen Z avoids marriage because family is more important than blood ties, and divorce is common. Gen Z is more focused on paying bills and fighting climate change than getting married.
At what age do millennials marry?
When do millennials get married? Millennials get married at 29.8 years for men and 28.0 years for women. What percentage of millennials get married compared to previous generations? Millennials are often thought of as a generation that is delaying marriage, but the statistics tell a different story. There’s lots of data on millennial marriage trends, from the median age for first marriages to cohabitation and prenuptial agreements. In this blog post, we’ll look at 20 statistics about millennials and marriage to understand how they view relationships. In 2018, the median age for a first marriage in the United States was 30 for men and 28 for women. This shows how marriage is changing in the United States. Millennials are waiting longer to get married than previous generations. Men wait two years longer and women wait four years longer than their parents. This change in the age of first marriage affects how Millennials approach marriage. It’s important to consider when discussing Millennial marriage statistics.
Is it OK to not have a wedding?
You’ve decided to get married, but you don’t care about the wedding. You don’t have to spend a fortune on a big party if that’s not important to you. You can get married without a wedding. There are three ways to get married without a wedding. Two if you want to get technical. I’ll talk more about that later. I’ll explain how you can avoid a traditional wedding and have your own wedding day. At the end of the article, I’ll ask you a few questions to help you choose the best route for you.
What percent of millennials will never get married?
Sixteen percent of people said they don’t plan on getting married. This includes 17 percent of millennials and 7 percent of Gen Z. The report found that the cost and the economy are barriers for young adults. 73% said it’s too expensive to get married.
What percentage of people get married?
In 1970, 76.5% of people were married. Today, it’s just over 31%. The study shows that Hispanic and Black women are getting married the least. The number of Hispanic and Black women getting married has fallen by 33% and 60% respectively over the last 50 years.
What percent of Gen Z is married?
It’s interesting to see how marriage rates have changed for the two youngest generations of adults in America. The national average for Gen Z is 3.78%, but in Utah, Wyoming, and Alaska, people aged 15 to 24 are getting married at a higher rate.
“For millennials, the national average is 42.2%, but it varies from 56% in Utah to 36% in Hawaii.”
Are Gen Zers dating differently? Tinder’s “Future of Dating Report 2023” showed that Gen Zers are changing the way people date.
📹 What are American Weddings like? | Attend an American Wedding with Me!
What are American Weddings like? Let me show you! In this video, you’re invited to join me as I attend my friends’ American …
My wedding cost almost nothing. We had a reception at our church (free to book) with just a few snacks for people to come and go whenever they pleased, family made the cake and helped decorate the reception area, and we had a simple wedding breakfast with just close family at an inexpensive buffet restaurant. I have never understood the mentality of spending thousands of dollars on a wedding.
In most asian cultures, wedding is where families who wed their children. “show-off” their wealth buy inviting large amounts of people (consists of close relatives, distant relatives, colleagues, families that were brought by the guests, and so on), heck it can even reach to more than 400-ish people came to the wedding event. also renting a big ballroom in hotels or someplace, hiring a reputable catering service, wedding gifts for guests that came to the wedding, music/band, photo/videographer and so on. All of this can cost up to $100k-$150k and can be even more!
I think that last bit of advice is a good one. Rather than being like “This is what I need, what are your prices?” saying “This is my budget, what can I get with it?” will give a salesperson less of a reason to give you the most expensive thing possible, and make them think of the best thing within those limitations. I used to work for a wireless service provider, and when selling a phone I would always ask them their budget first, because my commission was usually the same no matter what they chose. When the money you make is directly proportional to the money the client is spending, however, you’re going to want to do what’s best for the business and try and entice them to buy more.
tip #1: make your own dress or wear your job interview dress same for tux tip #2: make your own cake tip#3: learn to make paper flowers tip#4: you can make beautiful decoration with things from dollar tree tip#5: go to a courthouse for the actual marriage part and just have an after party tip#6: Call everyone to see if they would bother attending before sending invites tip#7: There are plenty of photography students at community colleges who want money and charge less tip#8: use a small local park as a venue just like people do for birthday parties
Heck no!!! 15,000 dollars? In that case I will have a nice little ceremony with family and close friends, i mean close, at my home church. Then rent out an affordable reception hall, maybe one in an inexpensive hotel. Food, cake, fam, friends, dj, photographer, articlegrapher. No extra. That’s what I see at weddings. A lot of extra things done for just one day. One main thing for is having flowers as the center pieces to be honest. Guest will be less than 70 people and that’s pushing it. Have a cheap wedding and then go somewhere nice for your honeymoon, at least for me that’s what I want. I love traveling. You can have a beautiful, cheap wedding.
My wedding, and dress cost my husband and I about $1,500 for 110 guests. There was no way on earth we were going to start off our lives together in debt by throwing a party for people who would forget every detail the next day. We took a week long honeymoon in an expensive hotel in the mountains of Colorado to celebrate US. We have never been in debt, we travel the world with our son, and wouldn’t change a thing about our wedding day.
My fiancé and I had set a budget of $4000 for our Harry Potter themed wedding thinking ‘yeah that should be enough’. Little did we know looking for vendors that our entire budget would be the down payment for one place. At first we thought ‘are we crazy, but does $4000 for a single vender sound too much?’ After perusal this article we realized that ‘YES’ it was too much. We think it’s absolutely horrible that certain vendors take advantage of new couples just because we drop the ‘W’ word. Going into shopping for the rest of our wedding, (were still in the process of planning it), we are supper careful when using that word, and now we know the truth of why they are so expensive. p.s. Still considering elopement as an option!
Well…. better than the funeral industries. Also a “once in a lifetime” experience (literally) but the cost of caskets, embalming and services are super high with no reason being why. The funeral industry is basically a cash cow. This industry target extremely unstable and emotionally vulnerable just like the wedding industry (yes, i just said wedding couples are unstable. Its true sometimes!) to get a shit ton more cash. There’s a circle called Greed in hell just for them.
One of the reasons I loved my florist is that when she saw pictures of what I want see immediately warned me about the prices of the flowers. We then talked about substitutes for the really expensive ones so I could get the look without the cost. That kind of thinking and consideration of my budget is why I recommend them to everyone in my area. And the flowers were great! But she was one of the only people who were honest and upfront about price.
REALITY CHECK: Weddings do NOT have to be so damn expensive. All you have to pay for is the marriage license, which costs around $20 – $100, depending on where you live. Everything else (the rings, ceremony, gown, suit, food, afterparty, etc) are things you choose to purchase and you are under no obligation to spend a certain amount on any of it. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
I’m so glad I didn’t make the big mistake of paying $31,000 on my wedding. My husband and I only spent about $3500 on our small, DIY church wedding and only invited families and friends. It might not have been the grandest wedding, but we had the time of our lives. Honestly, the way I see it, what makes a wedding day memorable is finally being able to marry the love of your life and being surrounded by the people that truly matter. People spend thousands, sometimes even millions, of dollars to have their dream wedding, only to divorce soon after. In the end, it’s the quality of your marriage that matters not the quantity you spend on your wedding day.
we needed a hotel room for after the wedding before we left for our honeymoon. we asked for the wedding night package (whatever it was called) which was supposed to include stuff like rose pedals, champagne, candles, late check-out, his and her robes, etc.. the hotel didn’t do any of that so I figured ok they just put us down for a normal suite and ordered a bottle of champagne via room service. next morning they slid the paper under the door at normal time and when we went to checkout they still charged us the special wedding price like 300 buck MORE than a normal suite. unbelievable.
Well, my husband and I spent maybe $3000 for our wedding, and honestly, it was just as amazing as those $25,000 weddings. Heck, my wedding dress was $750 alone.We didn’t get a wedding planner, we were only engaged for 6 months, and it went really smoothly. Both our families were involved and helped out a lot and we were able to find amazing deals. It may be my inner cheap Mennonite heritage coming out, but I think people really don’t need to spend so much on a wedding.
I don’t every want to get married, but I think its unfair for people to judge others on what they spend for their wedding (providing the couple can afford it). I mean, even though the idea of marriage to me is ghastly, I still understand that for others its very important and their wedding day is expected to be one of the highlights of their entire life, surely that justifies a couple trying to make it as perfect for them as possible, and that means high costs are almost always inevitable.
How great this is to have you, from within this business, come with such a truthful depiction of what is going on and give such honest, blunt advice for future brides and grooms. Thank you. It would be hard to explain here, but this brings me a lot of comfort. I had my wedding last year, in the fall, and it was quite the battle breaking through the marketing techniques to respect my budget.
My wife and I got married by the justice of the peace at the courthouse. It cost $75. We bought no flowers, no new clothes, no cake, no reception hall, no wedding planner, no professional photographer, no DJ, no catering and we didn’t fly anybody in from out of town. We JUST GOT MARRIED. We wanted to be able to focus on getting our mariage right, rather than obsessing over the details of just one day. Not only did we save ourselves a ton of money, we saved ourselves a ton stress!
Unpopular opinion down below, if you get upset then sorry ⬇⬇⬇ Weddings are highly unnecessary. Tons of money, making a hundred people come see it, some words and a kiss, immense pressure. Another reason humanity is very unintellectual. What does it do for you? A little less than half of married couples are unhappy with their relationship at some point in the future. Going to a fancy restaurant (or your house if your comfortable with that), having yourselves a feast, and having a close friend ask those magical questions would be much better
I bought a long white lace dress from TJ Maxx for like 30 bucks and got married in that. Didn’t stick out at all because people don’t wear those poofy dresses from the 90s anymore. The wedding dresses of today are just white, long cocktail dresses. Now, people WANT to spend that money on that dress. They want to feel “special”. Of course the woman who asked for a 5000 dollar diamond ring won’t feel special with a cheap dress. It has to cost more than anyone else’s dress in the room. I understand that and respect that. If you feel good doing that, hey who am I to talk. What I am trying to say is, it isn’t just the fault of the companies that mark up the prices and rip you off. People want to be told that what they are wearing that day is incredibly special. And they actually want to pay a very big amount to feel like they got what they were looking for.
My wedding was under $1k. I refuse to participate in this ridiculous cultural status-flaunting ritual. It was beautiful and fun and that is all you’re gonna care about in 20 years. Also, the rest of my life with my spouse is more valuable and important than one day. I will have happier days I spent $0 on!
As a photographer, I do charge extra for weddings. A few reasons why as well as how I set my prices 1) I know their budget is higher as the event. I plan my prices based on overall budget of an event. The impact is minimal, but it is there. The local band will pay less than the big AAA. 2) I don’t charge by the hour. I charge one off fees, tax included. So I want to know exactly what you want, and base myself accordingly. I will provide what was agreed upon and nothing more. Weddings demand more. You have specific moments that needs shooting, client usually wants the photos on an album, etc etc. The more work there is to do, the more you’ll pay. If I feel there’s going to be more than you initially ask for, I’ll quote higher. Gonna avoid the annoying “U didn’t pay me enough for that” moments. 3) Weddings are not fun. Simple. You get a discount if I get to enjoy the event. The more professional I need to be, the more I charge. And oh god are weddings rigid and professional. Compare that to a concert/nightclub where I get AAA pass, +1 invite for my friends and free booze from the backstage minibar and you wonder why the price doubled. 4) To quote the CEO of Luxotica “everything is worth what people are willing to pay”. Photographer isn’t that well paying, so i’ll grab every penny I can by charging as high as I can. That’s simple business. Rule of thumb is, if you get a job too easily, you’re priced too low. 5) Finally, time of the event. If I have to re-schedule or cancel something, I’ll add extra for it.
Hey, thanks for that! As a wedding vendor I’d like to add that besides we get more work as you explained, in my point of view there’s a key factor that goes within the price: operations. The team that we need to set for a wedding has always to be way more experienced that a regular gathering. Because you don’t have the right to do any mistakes. You HAVE to be PERFEC to achieve a bride expectation and that’s ok, it’s in the job description of a wedding vendor! You have to set a perfect plan B as well, there’s more risk of being sued (yes!), and all of this comes with a cost. Of course we have to nail in any event. Everyone deserves to get what they’re paying for. I’m just pointing that brides always need more attention, vendors get more responsibility and a lot more of expectations to achieve. The prices are a fair reflection of all that.
This was awesome and hope that more people focus on the marriage then this “once in a lifetime day”. My husband and I stated what our budget was and that we were absolutely not going a penny above because 30k for a wedding is obsurd! Some vendors said no and many others agreed to our price but thank goodness we had back ups for all. We got everything that we wanted in our day and an amazing honeymoon for under 6k.
We spent about 5.000 euros for our wedding in Greece ( for 100 guests ), which was a really good price since most people spend around 20 to 30.000 euros. We got all our money back, since we asked for money as a wedding gift because we didn’t need any more stuff to fill the house. We did some diy stuff but not a lot, since the hotel where we had the reception covered the food, the service and the cake. Even if I had a ton of money I wouldn’t spend so much money for just a day. We still had a great wedding day and we didn’t go broke. Also part of the money we got back from the wedding we will spend to go to Bali for our honeymoon!
the biggest reason for my pricing as photographer is that there are so few days of the year we can possibly work. editing, client acquisition, advertising. It’s a full time job. So you have to max out your potential earnings on each wedding. And unlike “family gatherings ” weddings are way more stressful.
Being a millennial I’ve already thought about it just in case I decide to get married with a party, and one thing is certain: I’m not telling people that I’m planning a wedding. I could book a venue for a “celebration” and it would cost less than a wedding. It would cost less to commission a “princess dress” over buying a premade wedding dress, if it’s even something I want to keep (what use will I have of it afterwards?). I could get a cooler and rarer stone in a ring for less than a diamond. I could get catering and an open bar for a “party” and it would cost less. In the end I’d rather plan it out so we could spend less on things like a venue, but more on fun stuff for our guests (like an open bar) and a honey moon
My dad married my step-mom the second month of getting to know her in a courthouse. They married right after my dad got off from work. He wore simple clothing, and he had bought her a simple dress and cheap rings. Small family dinner at a family member’s house after the courthouse and that was it. They have been married since 1995 and still going strong. My husband and I didn’t care to get married legally but we eventually did after 7 years at the courthouse. We had no rings, I had no dress and it was done right after my husband got off from work. We had no dinner after…nothing. We are still married and have been together since 2008. Remember that a marriage license is a legal piece of paper that doesn’t guarantee your marriage will be successful. We always advise to go as simple as possible because if you focus on materials, you take away from the true meaning of marriage which is LOVE.
Guess I’m the only woman around here not giving a flying fart on weddings. My husband and I wanted to marry, but not the party with over-sweet cake, never-ending boring speeches, hysterical mother-in-laws and oh the facade! We’re so happy happy and in a moment a unicorn wil merge from the woods along with a million butterflies. Hell no, we married without telling anybody, and took a long walk in the moonlight. He’s even the first guy I ever met, and we’re still together.
I do not understand why everybody just ” gets married” and thinks they have to have this costly wedding. Seriously, you dont have to rent some giant ballroom, have everybody dress like penguins, buy a stupid giant cake and the likes. Just meet all your friends and family at a park and have a picnic, or throw some chairs and food in the back of a car and drive up to the top of a mountain. That would be much cooler and cheaper. Traditional weddings are silly
Historically, wedding comes from religion concept, if you’re not religious people (atheist/agnostic) and live in western countries, Why bother??? I know there is marriage without religious content carried out by a government institution. But, what for? commitment? prevent breakups? parenthood? There are so many marriage failures out there. In certain (eastern) countries yes the procedures are needed for having a child at least.
My wedding cost less than $6,000. I bought my dress online (8 months in advance just in case), it was a bbq style reception so I DIYed some mason jar center pieces that had wet wipes and condiments, all of the decor I made by hand. We got married at a Trap Falls in Townsend MA (look it up, it’s beautiful) next to the waterfall, and had the reception at my parents house in NH. The most expensive thing was the food, which was about $2,500 for 125 people, and we did a pig roast which was a huge hit. Next most expensive thing was renting the two tents and tables and chairs, which was about $2,000. When I called into book all of the tents, tables and chairs, I did not tell him it was for a wedding, I told them that it was for a family gathering. Because when I called in a week earlier and told them it was for a wedding (for a price quote) they quoted me $4,000. I used to work in a cake shop and I kept in contact with the owner, who gifted us our wedding cake. My dress alteration was done by a family friend as a present too. All in all, we had an unforgettable day, and walked away debt free. We still get messages about how much people loved our wedding compared to other weddings people have been to. It was so much fun the caterer even came back and partied with us when he was done
I had a small Asian wedding, most extended family were not invited. 80ppl on the wedding evening. Total cost £5k and we had it in London. 3 day event. I did a lot of things myself, hand made decorations etc family and friends helped, friends made my flowers and did my photos, it’s how I kept the cost down. Main point is you don’t have to be OTT!
As someone who worked in weddings for years, I can’t agree that people are getting ripped off because they are unaware. It’s not that hard to do a little research and there are SO many ways to save money and keep things classy and elegant. The people that lose sight of the meaning of a wedding or are really, really lazy are the mostly the ones who spend thousands and thousands of dollars. The best weddings I’ve worked are the ones who were chill, happy, kept things simple, and invested in the most important aspects.
2:43 also when you click on the link to some pins it’s also not the actual website for the dress you just pinned…example: you’ll see a Hailey Paige (INSPIRED) wedding dress on a low budget website called “LaLas” or something for $200 knowing the actual dress pictured is $3000….so I personally think Pinterest is strictly used for inspo for girls like me planning their own wedding.
We’re planning our wedding, and we’re presenting it as a family gathering to vendors to get a better price. Also, if you stall or are evasive on pricing, it sounds a loud and clear message to us that your prices are steep, and we move on to the next vendor. This has been especially true for DJs. If any vendor beats around the bush for pricing, we view it as unprofessional, and it makes us feel like they’re trying to figure out how much we can afford and milk us for it. We already had a couple vendors at a wedding show try this. The prices we were quoted for DJs, photographers, etc., would have been enough to feed a village in Africa for a year. Or pay for our honeymoon. We’re getting married for $4k. We are doing as much as we can on our own, we have friends and family who are helping with ushering, catering, and photography. We’re planning everything out ourselves, and we’re shopping for the best deals. So far, we’re coming in way under budget. Destination lakeshore wedding, large venue for the reception, beautiful invites, professional photographer, delicious buffet style catering with a WIDE variety of foods from around the world, open bar WITH a bartender, 80 guests, all under $3k so far. The honeymoon is a different story… We’re at $4k and counting… XD Caribbean with a Spa Stateroom, 3 ports, excursions at each port, unlimited drinks package, extra days at the beginning/end port for extra stuff, and we intentionally grabbed flights with 8+ hour layovers so we can see two extra cities and spend a day in them.
I worked for a caterer for 19 years. We did NOT charge extra for different kinds of events. We were an off-site caterer, meaning we took food to the place where the event was being held-few event halls have complete kitchens. This means everything, every plate, fork, glass, steak, and appetizer had to be: Picked out of the warehouse or refrigerator via a packing list, then double checked Loaded on the truck at our shop. Driven to the event hall. Unloaded from the truck and taken inside the event hall. Unloaded from the bin, racks, and transport boxes, etc., and distributed as needed. Tables had to be erected, then set. Food finalized (stuff was cooked in our kitchen, but apps had to be re-heated, arranged on plates, etc.) ** The party happens. ** Then everything had to be loaded back into transport boxes Reloaded on the truck. Driven back to the shop. Unloaded from the truck Washed Placed back into storage containers. Restored in the warehouse. That is a LOT of handling. And someone has to pay for it. So, why don’t catering halls have kitchens and staffs to prepare the food and handle all the stuff? It would save a lot of handling? Simple. Most event halls only do 1 event a week, maybe 2 in the busy season. And 70% of the business is on Saturday. How do you hire cooks, warehouse people, dishwashers, and especially servers for 1 days week. These people need to work a 4-5 day week like everyone else. They can’t work at more than one event hall, because they are all rented out at the same time, Saturday afternoon and evening, 70% of the time.
Even though weddings may be more expensive for vendors, they should then create a portfolio of pricing just for weddings. I am in the wedding industry myself (event staffing company called Barspirit) and we service the expensive markets of New York, Los Angeles, etc. That said, we have a clear outline of our pricing and even a “immediate quoting” tool so clients can see what they are getting into before hitting that submit button. That way, everyone is on the same page about the cost and if they looked us up (e.g. on Yelp), they know that we are good for it. It shouldn’t be hard for experienced vendors to estimate pricing like that.
My cousin is a party planner and I help her with some of her projects so I understand some of the time, effort, and energy that goes into events, let alone weddings. If you’re having a large gathering, expect a big price cause you have to worry about food, supplies, decorations, and so much more if it’s a wedding. But there are a lot of swindlers out there so you have to be careful.
In some parts of my country, weddings are a 3 to 5 days of party. This parties tend to be huge with a lot of family, friends and even strangers coming and the couple have to give them a place to stay but also food, drink and music all day. It seemed to me a huge spending just to entertain but there was a catch. In between the dancing and presentation of musicians, the couple will start to present and open the gifts, the bigger were the first to be opened and things like refrigerator, TV, a set of couches, etc. Someone even gave them papers for a new house and another gave them a car in those gift openings. It was really an spectacle to stay just to see what was going to show up next . And get as much people as possible drunk. Then came things like the guests forming a circle with the couple dancing in the center, with drunk guests randomly approaching the couple to put money in their clothes, and all I could see was bills of at least 50 dollars of worth covering them. That’s the trick, you have to approach the couple at some point, if you don’t put bills, it would seem you are a stingy person in front of the crowd. And that’s how I lost a lot of money that week but it was entertaining and amazing to see that after this wedding, the couple is all ready to start their new life with everything they need.
My wedding cost me between $5k and $7k. The cake was a gift, the dress and veil were too. The honeymoon was gifted to us by my father-in-law and it was a cruise. We did every decoration ourselves and we actually saved more. The flowers on the arrangements were fake except the ones I had and the ones on the bridesmaids. The photographer was my cousin, he did it for free! I still don’t understand why waste $30k on a wedding. Why not spend less and use that money for a house? Or for savings? Just saying!
My partner and i spent less than 10k aud total on ours. 60 guests. We had our reception in a private garden of one of our favourite resturants in the middle of our city. It was secluded and cut off from public and traffic noises. I had made a playlist sutible for a chill dinner and party afterwards. With the help of the resturant manager we set up tables, chairs, speakers and whatnot ourselves, no fuss. Simple Australian native greens for decerations, skipped the traditional cake but opted for donuts from our favourite bakery. Do what makes you happy, we did and our dream wedding didnt break our bank account one bit.
Yeah…35 grand for one day? Hell no. I’m going to rent a wedding dress (why pay 1500 dollars for something to sit in my closet? You will NEVER re-use a wedding dress, and no your daughter won’t want to wear your old wedding dress, she wants her own.) I’m going to get a cheap venue (find a friend with a farm) and make my own decorations. I’m going to spend money on catering and a photographer but that’s about it. F*ck $10,000 dresses, f*ck $15,000 venues, and f*ck the greedy industry that rips young couples off. Spend that money on your marriage, not the wedding.
The expensive wedding is a total scam. Imagine what you could do right now with an extra $30,000. Pay off some debt? Buy a new car? Put a down payment on a house? I guarantee you aren’t thinking about throwing a one time party/religious ritual/family reunion get together where you only like 5-10 of the 200 people attending, that will be an absolute nightmare to plan and which you won’t even be able to enjoy because of how much it stresses you out.
Here in the Philippines, weddings can be as cheap or as extravagant as you want it to be. Prices here are way cheaper compared with the US. On average, weddings here in the Philippines with 100 guests with quality suppliers (venue, caterer, photo/video, clothes, rings, flowers, etc) start at around $3,000.00. Some brides can even reduce it to $1,000.00. Our wedding cost us at around $8,000.00.
I did the same experiment that they did in the article, with different locations across my homecity, San Francisco. What I found was… odd. The prices for family gatherings were 13,000, 17,000, 20,000, 21,000, and 23,000. However, weddings were drastically more expensive, at 25,000, 27,000, 31,000, 33,000, and shockingly, 41,000! It is insane that weddings cost such a grotesque amount of money! Tip: Just a small wedding at Golden Gate Park or Baker Beach. It will save you so much money. (In case you don’t know, Baker Beach and GGP are in SF. ✌️) P.S: Comment if you are from San Fran!
I realize this is an old article, but it just popped up in my feed yesterday. I am a freelance artist and I work mainly in the wedding industry – invitations, calligraphy, etc. In my field I feel that a lot of the time a bride wants the moon (and the sun and the stars) and then is shocked by the price of custom design. My pricing problem is actually a different one. I’m a freelance artist, custom artwork and design is expensive, brides get sticker shock. I’m often choosing between paying myself a fair living wage and bringing prices down from the standard of freelance artists so that I can get the work I need to pay my bills.
Good lord. The amount of sexism in these comments is disappointing to say the least. Re the article, the only thing I’d nitpick is the study referenced at the beginning. Two issues with it: one, it used mean, not median, so expensive outliers shifted the average to an unrepresentative level; and two, it suffers from selection bias – an obvious consequence of a wedding website polling its users. Other than that it makes some solid points. To disagree with many other commentors, I’m male and I’m looking forward to having a nice wedding, but obviously spending the money where it counts. I highly suspect $15,000 would be an upper limit for me.
It’s sad to see and think that people often forget that there’s more life AFTER the wedding day, there’s day to day expenses and such. “Thankfully” my husband and I got married during the strictest time of the pandemic and had about 30 guests at a nice Mediterranean villa where we had both the ceremony, banquet and accomodation for visiting guests. And we paid wayyyy less than an average wedding here in Spain by comparing prices and getting discounted items. Many vendors were very generous and would not charge us for certain things or give us free things since they wanted to help us and their businesses, I also got a discount from my wedding dress too! All God’s gifts and amazing provision!
as a bride-to-be getting married in about a month, i saw this markup a lot. you can get around a lot of the unnecessary cost. keeping a budget is essential. in lieu of gifts, we are doing a honeymoon fund (we travel a lot- and have all we need otherwise). by choosing a less popular time of year/day (we are getting married on a thursday) it allows some savings of money. choosing a less expensive dress – consignment?- or doing a smaller ceremony/reception is the way to go. i agree with this article on the “once in a lifetime” mentality can greatly impact purchases so keep that in mind as you make these decisions. there are alternative flowers that are cheaper but still as nice – in season?- and venues that are less expensive than others.
I plan Destination Weddings and I see many switching to this option. They just need to have the mentality their are eloping and if their friends and family come great! My personal destination wedding on a cruise ship for 60 was $5000 and since I lived near the port only we had to sail but many came along. I would never change it! These prices are crazy.
In traditional Kiwi (New Zealand) fashion, when I get married, I’d probably just have a small Church or outdoors wedding, and as for food, maybe we could just do a BYO kinda thing in which the guests just bring their own food and have kind of a shared lunch sorta thing. I heard couples who have more expensive weddings also are more likely to get a divorce.
my wedding is only going to be about 3,000 altogether… my parents and in laws are helping a bit but mostly it is out of pocket with a morning ceremony, a beautiful but cheap amazon wedding dress and veil, sandwiches and sparkling cider instead of drinks (since it is a morning ceremony and only my parents would drink at the reception anyway) and almost everything was included at the place we are getting married. And that is in Utah, where the thing to DO is get married and knock out children. It is ridiculous the pricing that people go through for weddings
I would like a backyard wedding when I’m older, almost like a family reunion but with less people. Not a fancy dress or even ring! My mothers parents got a ridiculously expensive wedding that my mom didn’t want, she said it was kinda embarrassing and a waste of money! My parents have been together over 20 years now but don’t give any credit to the wedding for the successful marriage because it was expensive. 💕
Go down to city hall, have a justice of the peace officiate the ceremony with 15 people from each family attending, have your photographer friend do the pictures, take everyone out for dinner after…max $5,000. Lavish weddings are a scam…yet the hyper materialist culture we live in convinces us that they are a necessity. Think of how much more stress a marriage begins with because of having to pay off this ridiculous sum. It is safe to assume that this financial burden could even contribute to failed marriages.
Yeah, the article is old but whatevs 😀 I know that the US culture is quite radically different, but here in Brazil… at least in my wedding and all the weddings we attended (we are from a small city, btw), the groom and bride knew full well what were the costs beforehand. Vendors actually do not hesitate in sending out quotes with actual prices. And many couples prefer to pay everything BEFORE the actual wedding, so their newlywed life usually starts with zero debt. Yeah, it can get quite as expensive as in the US, but still… no troubles with sending out quotations.
Well in my country (Balkans) an average wedding costs somewhere between 5-8 thousand euros, depends on number of guests. And i’m talking pretty venues with beautiful flowers and seats, full service and waiters, with 3 or 4 cource meal and wide veriety of drinks. You have cheeper but also decent options for 3000 for example. Dresses are usually rented and live band is mandatory. Cost of the band depends on how popular they are. If you want to go overboard then you pay 15000 euros for example. And that is considered a “rich people” wedding with more fancy food and wines, celebrity band, bought dress, more expencive rings, flowers etc.
I’ m engaged. I plan on having a venue for beach or bontincal gardens but now we see the cost of a wedding is expensive for 50 guests. Catering, floral, Dj, and photography is a stress for me. I had no problem finding a wedding dress but now it makes me thinking not spend so much on weddings go to Las Vegas to be done with all the negativity. LOL
Cheap rings, wore sentimental clothes, did my own makeup and nails, eloped at a civic center and was married by a county clerk. My friend and her husband were witnesses. She’s a professional photographer and took our pictures and her husband took article for us. A couple of relatives invited themselves, much to our displeasure, it was supposed to be me the groom and the witnesses, but whatever. After the ceremony we went to a nice lakeside sushi restaurant for dinner, then went home. Still married after all these years and we didn’t have to start our married life with stress, strife, or debt. Absolutely NO regrets. As modest as it was, it was still beautiful and memorable and I still cherish the photos and memories. You don’t need to spend a fortune to be happy.
My friend Charlotte just got married,, and she had it all in her garden, it cost her 2,750€ (I helped her plan it) and it was one of the best celebrations I’ve ever been at. There was a laptop and stereo for the music, one of her friends took pictures and everyone ate simple food off paper plates. Good weddings aren’t necessarily the most expensive.
Wedding Vendors are also expensive for several other reasons. For example, Corporate event vendors can work up to 5 days a week. Wedding vendors are lucky if they do 2 weddings a week (and that would be a lot for article or photo). As a wedding articlegrapher, a wedding often takes about a week of my time (including preparations, the day of, and editing). There’s also the factor that wedding don’t happen year around. There are months like February, when it’s too cold, or June, when it’s too hot to get married. If a wedding vendor wants to do weddings fulltime, they have to charge as if they’re going to get less than 40 weddings booked AKA salary(or reveune needed for venues)/40 = wedding cost.
I’m 14 and Indian and was just having a debate with my parents about why there is a need to spend so much money on weddings and why do we need to invite so many people and something that they mentioned felt pretty true to me. I have grown up in an apartment complex with over 200 families and many of them have known me since I was like 3. If I get married and don’t invite 1 such family, they will most likely get offended. Also, I have a huge extended family, we don’t live together, but they do exist. And of course each of them will definitely expect to be invited. Plus my childhood friends, college friends, my parents friends etc. And that is just my side of the family. This is why sooo many people need to be invited and why sooooooo much money is spent. Plus it’s all just a way of telling others that you can afford to have a glamorous wedding. In conclusion, I never want to get married. Thanx for reading. Have a good day 🙂
Aspects of Weddings that require money and how to save: Venue: Do somewhere outdoors or your local church. A scenic campsite, non-touristy beach near a large city, a nice park or a forest work well for cheap. Food: Wedding Dress: Bridesmaids and Groom Clothes: Flowers: Plant your own, buy plastic, or go to Lowes to get them cheaper. Music: Get a DJ, or a band of 2 people or less. If there is a local newer band in your area, you might be able to book them for $300 or less. Photos: Aspiring photographers instead of established ones will be cheaper, and the photos are just as nice Stationary: Do it online or make them yourself. Rings: Minimalistic rings can look just as elegant. A thin silver band and a small diamond
Another reason is entirely a matter of practicality. Vendors are pretty much forced to make their minimum weekly income in a single day, usually Saturday. Mostly, there is little demand for articlegraphers on Monday, or Tues, etc etc… Weddings also tend to be seasonal. How does a banquet hall or still photographer keep the cash flowing in January? (hint, mostly they DON’T!) So that’s why their services tend to be so pricey in prime season, May through October.
I’m a DJ and it costs more became there’s a lot more time a DJ works to prepare for the wedding. I meet with my clients multiple times before the wedding and I go to the rehearsal. Often times there’s more complicated lighting involved, I’m also the Emcee of the wedding and run the show, making sure it all goes smoothly. The DJ is also the most important factor for your guests having a great time and usually paid less than photographers and choreographers that stay in the background. The DJ is the face of your wedding reception.
$14k for the venue and $68 catering per guest. That’s insane. In Australia we just pay ~$100 to ~$150 per guest and that includes the venue. For out wedding we made our own cake (and it looked fantastic), and got family to help with the flowers and table decorations. All we paid for was the clothes, food, and photography. Wedding came in a little over $10k all up, and it was absolutely perfect.
wow. The average Austrian, German and French wedding costs around 5000 Euro, and these are First World countries, too. And we also manage to hold a reception and invite selected guests to a meal and maybe have a band (which of course makes it a bit more expensive, but nowhere near American figures). When I lived in the states I was blown away by the whole business. “The ring” has to cost such and such, you have to have your pictures taken even before the wedding, you fly somewhere for the hen-party…. It seemed mandatory, if you could somehow afford it, that was the protocol
If I ever get married, my husband can will lead this event, not me. I hate planning, I’ll only get involved if I am absolutely needed. Ex: 1.) Cost 2.) Wedding dress 3.) My side of the family to invite 4.) Fixing any possible mistake that my partner might have done And if we both hate planning I’ll just have the same marriage that my parents did (Super close relatives are the only ones invited, and doing your vows and stuff at super cheap prices). Like, I know it’s my wedding, but it’s my husband’s wedding too. And since I have almost no interest in what’s happening, I’ll let my man have some fun. Of course, when we get married we will sign a prenup. I know that I love him and that I should trust him, but millions of other people thought that too, and a lot of them got divorced, soooooo. We will sign that prenup.
I read an article that said that wedding industry are slowly going out of business because they collected data that millennial are taking longer to get marry or not get marry at all due to the way relationship is now and also the high cost. As one of the millennial I definitely agreed with this, I surrounded by groups of people that don’t seem to want to get marry until they’re around 28 years old and they are all seem to be very realistic about how they plan they wedding.
I work in the industry (wedding band), its all about the bride, they want that special day and they will spend for it. I had a friend who’s father gave her 2 options 1) small wedding and she gets a down payment on a house 2) big wedding, no help with house. She took number 2. Thats most brides mentalities
My wife and I got married in a church (free venue), and had a little party at our house. This was during covid so there wasn’t much we could do, but we didn’t feel like waiting around to wed.. All in minus the honeymoon it was 1000$ Canadian. We’re both young so throwing around cash any more than that wouldnt be wise. I don’t understand why people spend home downpayment level amounts of money on weddings. Even if someone else was paying, id rather it go towards a home or a college fund for future kids. Weddings aren’t a party, they’re a celebration of love. 1 day doesn’t equal the rest of your life. Burning money so that the next day you can fight over the bill
As a florist I find that pinterest brides usually lead themselves down very expensive paths they cannot afford and end up with multiple quotes. leading to more expense down the road. When it comes to talking to your florist about your wedding flowers you should let them know your wedding colors so they can get you flowers that are in season at the time of your wedding as well as keeping you in your budget.
As a Professional Pastry Chef who specializes in Wedding Cakes, I’ve had my share of nightmare Brides. “Why does having Raspberries instead of Strawberries cost more?” Seriously?!? Why do your Handmade Sugar Flowers cost more than real flowers?” I don’t know, maybe it’s because there’s 47 individual pieces in each flower! I’ve turned perspective clients away, I can usually tell right away who’s going to be trouble. I have always given my prices up front. The more elaborate your wedding cake, the more exotic your fruit (ingredients) your cake is going to cost you more. We’re not all crooks who overcharge.
I find it ridiculous that people spend tens of thousands of dollars on an engagement ring and weddings. It’s such a waste of money: a ring that no one really cares about after the first year, a dress you only wear once, a party that you can’t even enjoy. Just because society says you should buy all these things, doesn’t mean you should. I know a few couples that took out loans or still can’t afford a house because they had these weddings. I want my proposal from him to ask if we should go house shopping. That’s already commitment, no ring. When we get married, just sign the papers at City Hall and let’s invite some close friends and family for a barbecue.
Pinterest is a florist’s worst nightmare. The flowers are generally silk or only designed for a single shot, not necessarily an entire evening, so are completely unrealistic. One girl came into our shop wanting the complete ball of roses bouquet you see so often on Pinterest and refused to compromise… We had to make it for her and to make it last for an entire night we had to put a heavy water source in it. It wound up weighing about 20 pounds.
My parents had their wedding on a really small budget. My mum dress was pretty cheap(in relation to the crazy price of wedding dresses). They had a small group of people for the marrying bit and had a picnic the next day for all the wider friends and family. Over 20 years on I’m pretty sure not spending a fortune has done anything to negatively impact their marriage.
This is why I’m having a small wedding, not having a wedding party, getting married and having my reception in the local church I grew up in, and getting a friend to do the catering. And my mum is making and decorating the cake. I’ve made my own dress and I love it. Going to be a fab day and it comes in at under £1000.
I am planning my wedding now and everything is so expensive. And I am lucky since me, my fiance, and my family can do most of everything ourselves. He is in the print industry, I am a seamstress, and my family will be growing my flowers. So invites, save the dates, dress, and flowers are handled. I didn’t want to make my own dress since I have much to do but while looking, dresses are way to expensive. I do admit I have made a few wedding dresses for other people and I did charge them extra because working with brides is more stressful but I am looking at off the rack dresses and those are way to expensive too.
Picking the flowers were so annoying for me. The only thing I cared about was either lilacs or a purple flower. I didn’t care what other flowers were in it, how big or small or was, I just wanted it to be purple. I felt like the florist demanded I be more picky to raise the price. And in the end of it all, I barely even held the thing and it was annoying to carry in photos. It was a beautiful waste of time and money.
You see, where i was born(Croatia), there is no such thing. The economy there is hurting, and people just can’t afford to spend THAT much money, but guess what, it’s still probably as good. pretty much all of the food is made by the relatives, there’s usually like cookies and stuff that get’s served(it doesn’t have a name, it’s like a cookie but the taste of a cake), and ALL of that get’s made by the family(i believe it’s usually the mother-in-law, with someone’s help too), the dress is rented or even bought by someone in the family(someone from the relatives, dunno who), and the place where the wedding will occur is rented(usually the part when they marry is separated). Basically the whole cost is much lower because most of the stuff is homemade, and most of the cost is spread throughout the family.
The question I ask is why if you call a supplier (catering, venue or whatever else) and mention your requirements and don’t mention “wedding” they will give you a quote but then when you mention “wedding” the price goes up despite nothing changing for the supplier (same number of guests, same amount of food, same length of time for hiring stuff etc etc) other than the fact that you just told them its a wedding.
I’ve been to a few weddings in my life only two so far are still together. The others have divorced in roughly less then 10 years. It seems so manipulative to make a wedding or marriage seem like it’s a once in a life time thing just to get that sale or contract when people don’t work like that date. People change and marriages fail all the time. Weddings should be treated with fair price and respect to the customer.
I had small wedding. And i didnt tell anyone that the things are for wedding (when i was at tailor for dress i told that dress is for me, going to sisters wedding, samw with flower bouqet). I paid so much less. Word wedding in their ears is enough for same bouqet to be 10x more.. doesnt have any sense to me.
When I was in high school, I took home-ec (mainly because I needed an art credit and can’t draw a straight line without a ruler), and the final project was “plan your wedding”. Well. What fun! /sarcasm I’ve never been a girly girl dreaming of being a princess in a taffeta ball gown. So, I planned the type of wedding I could see myself undergoing. Grand total spent: $175.00 A tank of gas for the car (back in ’99) came to about $20.00. The license was $35.00. I figured anything not covered in engine grease or grass stains out of my closet would be fine for threads, so $0.00 spent on clothes. The remaining $120 was so that me, my fictional groom, and our two witnesses could have dinner afterwards at the local steakhouse. My teacher wanted to fail me, but I took the page of instructions she’d handed out to the principal. I’d followed each instruction to the letter. She was forced to grade me accordingly. The following year, the “plan a wedding” project was replaced with “plan a formal dinner party for 150 guests”. So, weddings don’t have to be big or elaborate. My own parents eloped (in a manner similar to what I’d planned for my home-ec class, but at the time, I didn’t know that’s what they’d done – I was only informed that they’d eloped after the drama of my challenging my grade had come to light).
Couples who have happy and long lasting marriages will often say that they love each other more every day. By that progression their wedding day was the day of their marriage that they loved each other the least. For weddings, among other things, people should ask themselves how and why certain practices originated and whether those reasons are still applicable. Most wedding traditions and practices were originated by the aristocracy. Their marriages were political alliances. The grandeur of a wedding was intended to demonstrate the power of the new alliance, especially to any enemies. Bridesmaids, who now dress the same as each other (something women usually prefer not to do) used to dress the same as the bride. This was so that they would be decoys in case anybody tried attacking the wedding. The groomsmen were close friends and family of the groom who were willing and able to fight on his behalf. Standing closest to the groom was the best man, who was really the best swordsman.
I can tell you that 300 guest wedding cake took me about 40 hours of labor and over $100 in raw materials no my wedding in 2001 wasn’t as much as some wedding cakes under $2000 it was small and we made our own food with a family holiday meal for about 80 guests and my cake was a sheet so we kept costs low
now perusal this article. i remembered what my mom actually told me… How expensive your wedding does not matter; it is your time being together as a couple for years matters more. and also the sister of my classmate (who ia a muslim) said that do not spend too much on the wedding, focus your money in starting officially as a couple and how will you build your home… guess what? they are right… for me, i rather spend more money for silver and golden weddings cause it is a symbol of long lasting love and being strong for how many years being together
Over where I am weddings cost around $65,000 and man, there is no point. Imagine flushing that much cash down on one day. Prolly takes one a lifetime to earn it, and one day to blow it. I dream of a wedding, that is held in a tiny garden somewhere on the hills, with just immediate friends and family, cocktail snacks with amazing music and people.. No big expensive reception halls or 5 star hotel receptions.. man thats just nuts. I would rather put that money towards building a future. the honeymoon, and giving some to charity.
When I was planning my wedding I simply ignored the vendors that didn’t list prices on their website. It irked the bejeezus out of me (like, are they going to gauge how much they can get from me before setting a price?) and there are plenty of vendors who do list the prices on their website, so why put up with this bullshit?