After reading The Knot Worldwide Global Statistics Report, it got us thinking…. what does a wedding actually cost?
We broke down the average costs, trends and overall interesting stats that may be relevant to you if you are getting ready to plan your wedding. We’ve compiled a list from the past few years and this is what we took from all our research…
Averages
Average Venue Cost in Maryland: $14,100
Average Time Planning a Wedding (Time Engaged) in the U.S.: 15-16 months
Most Popular Month to Wed in the U.S.: October, 20% of couples are choosing October as their wedding month
Most Popular Month to Propose: December, this one was obvious 🙂
Average Cost of a Wedding in the U.S. with an average of around 100-120 guests: $30,000. In our opinion, this seems a little low.
Where does Maryland fall on the list of most expensive states to wed in? Can you take a guess?
Maryland lands as number 5 on the list of most expensive states to host your wedding, coming in around $39,000 for everything. This doesn’t even include the engagement ring or the honeymoon.
(Photography by B.O.B. Photography – Jillian McQuerrey)
Trends
What percentage of couples are doing a First Dance? 89%
What percentage of couples are doing a formal Cake Cutting? 74%
What percentage of couples are doing a First Look? 55%
What percentage of brides are doing a Bouquet Toss? only 37%! This one didn’t surprise us, as we see over 100 weddings each year, it seems less and less are doing a bouquet toss. Honestly, with the rising cost of flowers and more brides opting to preserve their bouquet, this makes more sense.
What percentage of grooms are doing a Garter Toss? We couldn’t even find anything dated past 2017, and even then, only around 37% of U.S. grooms are participating. Fun alternatives we have seen for these include a stuffed kitty toss, where whoever catches it, adopts a cat!
(Photography by Kate Ann Photography)
Cost Breakdown
Here’s the overall vendor cost breakdown/averages in the U.S. we have seen over the past few wedding seasons:
Catering: $80 per person plus an additional $2,400 for the bar.
Photography: $2,600
Videography: $2,100
DJ: $1,500
Band: $7,000
Cake: $510
Flowers: $2,400
Planner: $1,900
Officiant: $240-$1,000
Rehearsal Dinner: $2,400
Transportation: $1,300
*All stats are averages from The Knot, Wedding Wire, Wedding Pro resources available online.*
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