Getting married is one of those milestones of life that many look forward to experiencing. The wedding day is when many of a couple’s loved ones come together to celebrate the idea of a permanent relationship together. It is the start of something fresh, new, and exciting, but that experience comes with a steep cost.
Wedding Statistics and Averages
The average wedding cost over $28,000 in 2012, the highest cost in over 4 years.
For many couples, the majority of the wedding’s cost is actually a rental of the venue. With an average rental cost of almost $13,000, it accounts for the largest contribution to the cost for weddings under 200 people. What about weddings that have more than 200 people?
Interesting Wedding Facts
1. The average price of catering comes out to $63 per person who attends a wedding. With 200 people attending, this puts the catering cost as an equal cost to the venue rental.
2. The engagement and wedding rings are also a major part of the included wedding cost, with the average couple spending more than $5,000 on these symbols of love.
3. The average couple spends $700 more on the live band that will play at their reception than they will their photographer.
4. The average wedding costs $26,720.
5. More than 2.1 million weddings took place in 2016.
Takeaway: Weddings may cost a lot, but the idea behind an expensive wedding is that you might as well spend a lot because it’ll be the only one you have. Whether that is hopeful thinking with a divorce rate that’s between 40% – 50% or just wedded bliss talking, that’s more an individualized part of the approach. What is shocking about the costs of a wedding, if anything, is that the average couple will spend just as much on invitations as they will their cake!
Additional Wedding Industry Statistics
1. Over 2.5 million weddings occur in the United States alone every year.
2. Where you live can have a dramatic effect on how much you would spend on your wedding. Couples that have their wedding in Manhattan spend on average over $70,000 for the event. On the other hand, couples in Utah on average spend just over $13,000.
3. Almost half of all couples end up going over their planned budgets for their wedding.
4. The wedding industry in total surpasses $48 billion in revenues every year.
5. The most popular online social platform for planning a wedding is Pinterest, where 1 out of every 3 couples say they have gotten ideas for their wedding.
6. The average age a woman gets married is 29. The average age for a man is 32.
7. It is estimated that up to 20% of all relationships that end up becoming a married couple started online in some way.
Takeaway: A part of these wedding costs are definitely geographical. After all, a Seattle wedding will cost twice as much as an Austin wedding! Yet there is also a component of pride in these costs as well. Couples want the very best for their wedding and they want the complete wedding experience. If it costs a little more, than so what? It was money that was well spent. Hopefully just as much money is spent on the honeymoon as the wedding too!
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