#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
Tag Archives: wedding costs
WEDDINGS: THE JOYS AND EXPENSES
#weddings #WeddingCosts #LifeExpenses
The average U.S. wedding cost $35,329 in 2016.
So says The Knot’s Real Weddings Study, and quoted by NerdWallet columnist Brianna McGurran.
In a column published April 2, 2017, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a 25-year-old questioner asked McGurran how she was going to plan a wedding, and pay off her student loans by age 30.
She advised her to sit with her fiance and get their financial house in order. Determine how much they can save per month toward the wedding, and don’t go into debt to cover those costs. Then, McGurran advises the couple to talk to their parents or other family members to see what they intend to contribute.
Couples themselves covered 42 percent of wedding costs in 2016, McGurran quotes The Knot’s study.
She also advised the future bride to budget for the must-haves, and don’t include what doesn’t matter to the couple, such as flowers. She also recommended saving money by having friends provide services and homemade wedding gifts in lieu of actual gifts.
A bride in California got the cost of her 150-person wedding down to $23,000 in 2013, McGurran writes.
Meanwhile, Danielle Braff writes in the Chicago Tribune that there are hidden wedding costs that a couple may not learn about until the wedding day. Those include tips, overtime (for a reception extended past the paid-for time), fancy liquor not covered in typical bar charges, postage (McGurran recommends getting RSVPs on line to save there), taxes (not mentioned in the costs) and dress alteration.
Braff’s article was published in the April 3, 2017, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
So, we’ve learned that getting married can be expensive. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a nice wedding. After all, the gifts a couple can collect may offset some of the costs, providing they are gifts the couple wants.
But once a couple has decided on marriage, the two should discuss not just wedding costs, but life costs. They should give priority not necessarily to a wedding, but how they are going to live. That includes, yes, saving for retirement. No matter how young a couple is, the two should not assume that they will both have the jobs they have until they retire. Job security no longer exists.
They should be thinking about what they might do if they found themselves out of work in their middle age – well before they wanted to retire. What will they do? Will anyone hire them for decent pay?
Fortunately, there are many ways out there to earn an income that have nothing to do with a traditional W-2 job. To hear about one of the best, message me.
If a couple decides to pursue a non-job income before their wedding, perhaps they’ll have enough to cover the costs of a nice wedding AND make a dent in any educational or other debt. They may even get a head start on retirement savings.
Certainly, any couple needs to be economical in planning a wedding. They should have what they want, and eliminate what they don’t. A great time, and beautiful memories, can be had by all – without going overboard, or wasting money on things that aren’t necessary.
So, here’s a toast: To a happy and prosperous life, and an elegant but not over-frilled wedding.
Peter