#weddings #WeddingCosts #GettingMarried #WeddingReceptions #PayingForAWedding
With all due respect to planners and others associated with the wedding industry, the cost of a wedding is getting out of hand.
The average cost of a wedding ranges from $15,800 in Wyoming to $43,000 in Rhode Island. Naturally, the costs go up depending on the bells and whistles the couple wants. These figures come from an article by Kim Forrest for The Knot Real World Wedding Study, updated Feb. 15, 2022.
If you’re a young person lucky enough to have mom and dad, or someone else, willing to pay for it, go for it.
However, most engaged couples, and their families, don’t have lots of money. Therefore, spending so much on a single-day event may seem a bit, well, reckless.
Certainly, to the couple, the day may be the most important day of their lives. It may be very likely the happiest day of their lives.
News reports about wedding costs say the best way to reduce costs is to shrink the guest list. That process can be fraught with family tension.
So, if the wedding budget is important, the couple, with immediate family and friends if they wish, needs to discuss what will and will not be part of the day.
The basics include good food, good music, a cake (serving the cake as dessert can cut some cost), a suitable venue, photographer and good beverage availability (a cash bar also can save money).
Decorations, flowers, a limo etc. may be nice-to-haves, but they offer cost flexibility and possible elimination, depending on choices. A good rule of thumb is: if the couple doesn’t care about these extras, don’t worry about what’s “appropriate” or “proper.”
A volunteer designated driver(s) to take the couple and wedding party, if there is one, to the ceremony, reception and airport, or wherever they plan to spend their wedding night, can eliminate the need for a limo.
Another option: get married quietly, with a few witnesses, and throw a party later, when you may have more financial flexibility. Chances are, the later party will have fewer guests and be, perhaps, much cheaper.
All this begs a question: why have a big wedding anyway? If one or both of the couple has student loan debt, would it not be better to put the money toward that?
Also, with the housing prices as they are today, wouldn’t putting the wedding money toward a house purchase be a better investment?
Certainly, there are reasons to have a big wedding, if you choose. As previously stated, it may be the most important day in the couple’s life, and, therefore, worthy of a big celebration. There is also the thought that if invited guests all gave gifts, that the couple would get back (in money or merchandise) what they shelled out for the day.
At today’s costs, that argument may not hold up.
In short, if you are an engaged couple, give lots of thought about whether to have a big wedding, or how elaborate it will be.
Evaluate all other potential uses of the money you will shell out. Will there be better long-term value to put that money in something other than a one-day party? (Some weddings last more than a day, but it’s still a short-term event).
Also, though it may be difficult to think about, what will the day be worth if the marriage, for some reason, doesn’t last?
Wedded bliss does not have to come with extravagant cost. The thought process leading up to the eventful day may be the most valuable thing a couple can create.
Peter