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How Much Does It Cost For A Wedding

Average Cost Of A Wedding Cake

How Much Should A Wedding Cost?

For couples looking to end the night with something sweet, wedding cakes typically cost anywhere from $1.50 to $12.00 per slice, with the overall average landing at $540, according to Wedding Forward. Factors that affect the price include

  • ingredients,
  • delivery fees, and
  • equipment rentals.

Unfortunately, couples hoping that alternatives such as wedding cupcakes may cost them less will likely be disappointed as Wedding Forward reports that common options such as wedding cupcakes or cake pops carry an average price tag of $2.50 to $4.00 per serving — on par with a low- to mid-priced cake.

Average Wedding Costs By Type Of Wedding

Where you live isn’t the only factor that affects how much you’re likely to spend when you celebrate the start of your life with your beloved. The type of wedding also makes a difference:

  • Destination weddings average $32,000, while hometown weddings average $27,000.
  • First marriages weddings average $30,000, while second weddings average $14,000.
  • Millennials typically spend $30,000, while members of Gen Xers spend $20,000.

Hometown weddings come at a lower average cost than destination weddings for obvious reasons — it’s cheaper to stay local than to incur the costs of travel.

However, some of the extra wedding costs of a destination ceremony may be offset by a lower price tag for the honeymoon, assuming the couple celebrates in the location where the wedding was held.

It’s surprising, though, that millennials — who have faced unprecedented financial struggles — tend to spend more on their nuptials than their older counterparts. This discrepancy could be explained by the fact that social media has played an increasingly important role in driving the price of weddings up. More than half of all couples set up their own wedding hashtag in 2019.

Sexual orientation made almost no difference at all in average wedding costs. Opposite-sex couples spent an average of $28,000 while same-sex couples spent just $500 more.

This Is How Much Money You Need For A Wedding In 2022

How much does a wedding cost?

Zola’s director of communications shares how much U.S. couples are spending, on average, for weddings, and what they’re most willing to splurge on.

There is a lot for couples to consider when planning a wedding, such as where to hold the event and who to invite. But one question that comes up often is: “How much does a wedding cost?”

Zola, the online wedding registry and planner, surveyed thousands of engaged couples who planned to marry this year. It found that 27% of couples in 2022 budgeted between $10,000 and $20,000 for their big day, and 31% budgeted between $20,000 and $40,000.

But otherwise, there was a wide range $5,000 to $100,000 in what people anticipated to spend for their wedding, and more than two-thirds of the 3,309 couples surveyed said they were going over budget.

This is because 1) they found that wedding costs are more expensive than they had anticipated, and 2) theyre willing to spend more to get exactly what they want, according to Zolas survey.

FILE – A bridal customer wears a wedding dress and veil at Bridal Reflections Bridal Salon in Massapequa, New York, on March 17, 2022.

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How Much Do The Married At First Sight Weddings Cost

Since MAFS UK started back in 2015, couples have tied the knot in luxury stately homes and beautiful wedding venues across the country.

In previous years, couples have said ‘I do’ in locations including North Mymms Park’s Grade-I listed Elizabethan stately home in Hertfordshire and the walled garden at Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire.

However, past MAFS contestants have revealed that the ceremonies are not all-expenses paid, and contestants have to fork out for the finer things to be included on their big day.

Former UK contestant Clark Sherwood – who appeared on the show back in 2019 – explained that money is given to cover some wedding costs but not everything.

Sherwood previously told Cosmopolitan: Theres no financial gain from going on the show.

Theres budget for things her wedding dress, a small budget for the suits. Theres some money for hen-do and stag-dos, but it was mainly out of my pocket.

I think they put money towards travel or something. But there was genuinely no monetary gain. Lots of people think, No one would do that for free, but actually I spent quite a lot of money on the process.”

For the 2021 series, British radiator manufacturer Stelrad worked out the costs involved for the glamorous wedding ceremonies.

The priciest MAFS UK venue, based in Northamptonshire, with an average 100-person wedding would cost £24,850.

While a 100-person wedding in Hatfields North Mymms park, which was also used as a location in the 2021 series, would cost £15,850.

Average Us Wedding Cost

Average Wedding Costs

In the first year of the pandemic, nearly half of all weddings were postponed in some capacity, according to research from The Knot.

But many of those couples were finally able to wed in 2021 with the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, more available testing, and eased restrictions in the United States.

There were more than 1.9 million weddings held last year, and on average, the event cost $27,063. This is according to The Wedding Report, an industry research company.

HbrH image via Getty Images

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Sample Readings Vows And Couple Stories

The officiant will also give you many sample readings, vows, and couple stories to help you write your own, and from past experience can recommend the best length for all these before you begin to lose your audience. Many couples have said, after the wedding, that the officiant helped them craft their couple story and vows to a perfect length and with words that emphasized the love, caring, and humor they wanted the guests to feel as they were shared.

In addition, the officiant can suggest some delightfully unique and memorable touches to the typical wedding ceremony, such as handfasting, a wine ceremony, or a guest rope knotting.

Once You’ve Hired Your Officiant

Once youve hired your officiant, he/she will be one of your key players. Youll go over each aspect of the ceremony and choose your preference for how you want it to be. The officiant will provide several guides and helpful information for this part, guiding you through the welcome, your couple story, the vows, readings, exchange of rings, and closing.

Talk through all the smaller details such as who enters when, who stands where, when would you like this particular song clip to be played, when the officiant should announce the surprise guestyour fiancés brother from Australia, and so on.

This decision process sets the tone for the day and will put your mind at ease, as youll know what to expect and be prepared.

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Save Your Honeymoon For Later

As we all know, vacations are expensive, and spending can easily get out of hand when on your honeymoon. Now, were not saying you should skip the post-wedding holiday 78% of couples surveyed in Canada and abroad had honeymoons but you may want to postpone yours for a while, especially if you want to do something pricey, like yachting in the Maldives or staying in a private villa in Bora Bora. To celebrate, think about doing a minimoon or a staycation and save the main event for later.

Get Everything In Writing

How much does a wedding tent cost

Make sure all arrangements, plans, and statements are in writing. If agreements are made over the phone, send an email to ensure everything is documented in writing, and the receipt is acknowledged. Read over your contract carefully and refer to it throughout your planning process. Ask questions until you are confident that you understand everything.

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Making A Start On Your Wedding Budget

So how do you break down your wedding budget? The first thing to do is to work out how much you expect to pay for each supplier, and budget accordingly. Then you can move your budget around depending on what is or isnt the most important to you and your partner.

Our resident wedding planning specialist Darcy Allen has put together some helpful budget discussion points to help get you started.

Youll first need to consider the location and non-negotiable elements of your wedding, explains Darcy. For example, will you spend more on food and drinks and less on flowers? Or more on entertainment and less on photography or videography? These things should be discussed with your partner in great detail before finalising the wedding budget.

Once the budget discussions are over and youre ready to get down to the nitty-gritty, check out our helpful Budget Calculator tool. The calculator is super easy to use and will help you keep track of your spending to ensure any unexpected expenses are accounted for, including quotes from venues and suppliers, actual costs, and payments made.

Heres a list of the most popular services couples include on their wedding day and a guide to how much you can expect to pay for each:

What About Wedding Insurance

Wedding insurance can add hundreds of dollars to the overall bill for a wedding. The cost of wedding insurance depends on the amount of protections the newlyweds to-be want to add.

Wedding insurance refers to two different types of coverage: one version guards against deposits and wedding-day property, like special clothes and jewelry. The other is a type of liability coverage.

The in-person restrictions and uncertainty that COVID-19 caused in the wedding insurance industry resulted in consumers being unable to purchase coverage from some of the most well-known providers. Looking forward, wedding insurance companies may see more couples purchasing coverage. However, rates could be more expensive as companies look to make up their lost revenue.

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How Many Guests Are Too Many Guests

One of the biggest elements that will determine the cost of your wedding is your number of guests. Keep in mind that each guest is a chair, a knife and fork, a plate, an entire plate of food and drinks. It all adds up and the more guests you have the higher your budget will be. Sit together and set up an estimated guest list before you start your planning. This will help you get a better idea of what everything will cost.

To help our Pink Book brides estimate what their wedding will cost, our Wedding Budget Series features wedding planners given percentage breakdowns for planning a wedding with R50 000, R100 000 and R250 000. This handy series gives you an estimated cost of what you can expect to pay for a budget-, average- and high-end wedding.

Wedding Venue Cost Estimator

TheKnot.com Releases 2013 Wedding Statistics

To help get your wedding budget started, weve prepared a list of the average cost of wedding venue rental estimates to make sure that youre only looking into options that match your budget.

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The biggest opportunity for wedding receptions cost savings is to cut down your guest list as much as possible. This means less food, seats, drinks, security, and everything else.

The biggest impact comes with the fact that a smaller guest list opens the door to many more cost-effective venues.

If youre looking to pinch every penny:

  • Choose a full-service venue that will perform the ceremony and host the reception. Paying for rentals and services once instead of twice really adds up.
  • Bring Your Own Consider cash bar drinks and a potluck menu. It doesnt matter how many guests you invite if theyre feeding themselves.
  • Enlist some help. If someone in your family or circle of friends fancies themself an up-and-coming DJ, consider that theyre wedding gifts. Use this same mentality of other functions that usually cost money.
  • DIY. Youll no doubt be participating in several wedding-related celebrations in the months leading up to your wedding. Use these as opportunities for group DIY projects so that you can cut down on the cost of decor.

You only get married once, so we dont recommend skipping on important wedding experiences, but investing your time instead of money is always a good idea.

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Also Check: How To Be An Officiant For A Wedding

Destination Wedding Hidden Costs

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Nothing beats flying to an exotic or dream location for a magical wedding. But lets be realistic, destination weddings are NOT cheap and incur lots of unexpected wedding venue costs that will throw you off-guard if you are not prepared.

Planning Trips: You should definitely plan on at least one visit to your desired location before the big day so you have to figure out transportation costs, as well as hotel, food, and any other travel expenses, above and beyond the cost of travel for the actual wedding trip.

Transportation Costs: You may have to pay for the florist, DJ or band, hairdresser and makeup artists airfare, and maybe even family members or members of the bridal party. Plus any decorations, favors, etc., will have to be shipped.

Regional Marriage Requirements: Most countries legally require you to be in the country two to five days prior to the big event . You should definitely research this well in advance and budget accordingly for extra hotel costs, etc.

Foreign Taxes and Exchange Rates: This could incur extra costs on every single expense .

Second Reception: Realistically, all of your guests may not be able to attend your destination wedding so you may want to host a second celebration at home to include them, thus incurring additional expenses.

Median And Average Wedding Costs Differ

While average wedding costs can provide insight into what couples are spending, they don’t always tell the whole story and can establish unreasonable expectations.

Median cost can shed more insight into what typical couples are spending, as it is the middle number in the list. Unfortunately, median cost isn’t as widely available. However, a quick look at the most recent year in which median wedding cost data was published shows a substantial discrepancy between the median and average cost.

With the median coming in more than $10,000 below the average, it’s likely that the average is skewed by some couples throwing over-the-top affairs while most spend a more reasonable sum.

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Dont Be Afraid To Diy

Do-it-yourself projects like decor and wedding invitations can also help save you a chunk of money on your wedding. However, keep in mind, this can eat away at your time instead.

Dont be afraid to ask family and friends for help, especially if they have a special skill. For example, you may ask a close photographer friend to snap shots at your wedding. Just dont sacrifice your wedding or your relationship if you arent sure the person can meet your expectations.

How Much Does The Average Couple Spend On A Wedding

How much does the average wedding cost?

As of 2022, our annual survey of 2,500+ couples confirms that Australian couples spent an average of $32,228 on their wedding day. On average, couples spent 25.5% more than their original wedding budget, with most Australian couples starting their wedding budget at around $25,677.

Of course, your wedding budget is always going to depend on you and your own financial situation. Many couples share their wedding costs with their families, with 44.6% of couples receiving financial assistance from their parents.

Its worth noting that 2020 and 2021 were exceptional years, in which many of the average costs fluctuated due to guest list restrictions and an increase in outdoor weddings. Where possible, weve identified these fluctuations to help you plan your wedding in 2022 and beyond.

If youre keen to save up to 20% on your overall wedding cost, why not enlist the help of our lovely wedding planning experts? After a quick chat about your plans, our wedding specialists will curate a dream team of suppliers just for you, including your celebrant, photographer, DJ or live musicians, photo booth, and wedding cars.

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How To Plan Your Rehearsal Dinner Before Your Wedding

According to The Street, the groom’s family traditionally pays for the rehearsal dinner. But as couples modernize and more and more opt to pay for their own nuptials, the rehearsal dinner often lands in their laps as well. The first thing on your list should be determining who is footing the bill, as they will also be named host of the event. Once that is figured out, The Knot suggests locking down a venue for the dinner. The venue for a rehearsal dinner can vary greatly. Many reception venues include a rehearsal dinner in their package, but if you have to choose a different location, consider a special restaurant that you and your partner love or even consider a low-key event at your home or the backyard of a loved one.

When the location and the budget are checked off your list, you can focus on the more exciting parts like decorations, food, invites, and your rehearsal dinner attire. According to Brides, your rehearsal dinner look is like a first impression for your wedding day, so don’t skimp on your outfit of choice. If you choose to have a low-key event, consider crochet or lace, while a more formal dinner should have you dressing in something more elegant. And you don’t have to stick to white. While this is a traditional color, consider experimenting with other hues for your rehearsal dinner it’s a great time to express your personality on your big wedding weekend.

Pare Down Your Guest List

Your guest list can not only impact how much you spend on catering, but it can also affect the size of your venue.

According to The Knot, in 2021, couples invited an average of 105 guests to their wedding. However, this number typically depended on what time of year their wedding was. Couples who were married anywhere from January to June tended to have less guests due to weather challenges. Those who got married anywhere from January to March had even less .

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