Wedding Guidance
For the Men of the Wedding
What Does A Wedding Cost?
The Breakdown
Wedding Reception: 46%
Flowers: 6%
Photo/Videography: 12%
Wedding Favors: 4%
Wedding Attire: 9%
Wedding Music: 3%
Wedding Ceremony: 8%
Invitations, Stationery: 3%
Wedding Accessories: 7%
Transportation: 2%
About 2.24 million couples got married in the U.S. during 2007. They spent an average of $28,704 per wedding. This means that for every couple who goes down to the Justice of the Peace, there is another couple who is spending $55,000 on their wedding.
The price of the wedding goes up if you live in a major metropolitan area. For Washington, D.C. that average is about $41,000.
The price of the wedding goes up if you live in a major metropolitan area. For Washington, D.C. that average is about $41,000.
Good news: “The average cost of a wedding in 2008 was $21,814. This is a 24% decline over the 2007 average of $28,704,” according to the Wedding Report. Our country’s recent recession has even hit the wedding industry.
The cost might be higher or lower depending on your city. The rule of thumb is that the closer you live to the center of a big city, the more expensive a local wedding is going to be, which might be a good argument for a destination wedding.
It will be much easier to establish a budget when you know the going prices of weddings in your town. To get a better idea of how much the wedding is going to cost, ask around. Consult an experienced wedding planner in your town for an educated average cost. There are also sites all over the Internet that give you a rough average of wedding costs in your city, such as www.costofwedding.com.
According to the Wedding Report, brides are relying more heavily on the Internet to do their wedding research and planning—second only to asking family and friends for advice.
