If you’ve ever had to pay for you own wedding, you are probably well aware of just how expensive they can be. Even if you’ve only attended a few weddings and never had to pay for one yourself, it is very easy to see that everything is expensive and can quickly add up to being one of the largest expenses you’ll ever have in your life. Though much of what makes a wedding either expensive or affordable has to do with personal preferences, the overall trend has shown radical increases in the cost of an average wedding. Though prices fluctuate depending on what region you happen to live in and the size of your guests list, weddings are getting more expensive across the board.
A recent study shows that the cost of an average wedding in the United States is up to nearly $30,000. This is up drastically from the same study conducted in 2005 which found the average price of a wedding to be around $23,000. So what is the cause of this massive spike in costs? Though there are a variety of contributing factors involved, some of the causes may surprise you and also give you some insight into keeping your costs controlled if you’re planning a wedding in the near future.
One of the largest causes for the cost increase is blamed on the tanked economy. When the market took a nosedive in 2008, many weddings needed to be postponed which meant that vendors and wedding service providers such as caterers or photographers needed to adjust their pricing to stay above water. With some “luxury” services such as photo booth rentals and live bands reducing in popularity by as much as 25% in some regions, the cost to people who still wanted those services had to go up so they could stay in business. When the economy rebounded, the prices stayed the same even though the demand came back and now those same services are simply more expensive.
Additionally, there have been many new trends that have emerged in recent years to make things even more expensive. Instead of just buying traditional wedding favors, couples are now buying sparklers for weddings and a wide variety of other “add-ons” that once weren’t necessary at all. It has also become very trendy to give each guest a rose or carnation at the reception rather than just giving them out to the bridal party and close family, and that can get really expensive depending on how many guests you are inviting to the reception. As the size of your wedding increases, so do the expenses involved; especially when you are adding on new items to make the experience better for everyone.
In the end, the combination of higher prices and new traditions combine to make the entire bill for your wedding much higher than ever before. If you make some tough choices and eliminate many of the items that aren’t absolutely required, you can still get away with having a very nice wedding without spending way too much money. However, no matter what you do to lower costs, weddings are only going to get more expensive in the future and there doesn’t appear to be any change in sight.
If you’ve ever had to pay for you own wedding, you are probably well aware of just how expensive they can be. Even if you’ve only attended a few weddings and never had to pay for one yourself, it is very easy to see that everything is expensive and can quickly add up to being one of the largest expenses you’ll ever have in your life. Though much of what makes a wedding either expensive or affordable has to do with personal preferences, the overall trend has shown radical increases in the cost of an average wedding. Though prices fluctuate depending on what region you happen to live in and the size of your guests list, weddings are getting more expensive across the board.
