Jun 7, 2007 10:50 AM in response to: SharpBride

YEP! I totally agree. I use to think I have a pretty good budget, and after finding that 25K-26K  is the average wedding cost! that just drop my jaw..How everything is sooo expensive. !!Anyway, I have read incredible posts in here of girls planning their own weddings keeping their budgets of 10K, 5K & 2K. Which is wonderful, I'm actually getting some ideas from them.  

Tags: budgets

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Jun 7, 2007 8:52 PM in response to: SharpBride

Remember how you learned in math class about different kinds of averages (e.g. mean, median,etc.) This "average" probably includes everyone from kids who have a wedding in the backyard to multi-millionaire celebrities. After all, take a$1million wedding and average that with a $5000 wedding--whoa! That's quite an average! But, it doesn't mean that's what most people spend. In the end, what does it matter? You can spend what you can spend, and you set the priorities for yourselves. Whatever your budget, your wedding can be wonderful.

myra at www.classysassyweddings.com

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Jun 10, 2007 4:11 AM in response to: CapeCodBride08

I agree. Dreadful! In UK I believe the average cost is about £20K ( $40K). We got married for around $5K in New York. However there were only 14 guests...

If you are ( like everyone else) looking to save money hunt down an old thread for weddings under $5K. Squillions of cost saving ideas. We saved $1000s just by getting married on a Thursday. My othere favourite was not saying the W word until quotes were given ( particuarly good with car hire!).

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Jun 10, 2007 8:24 AM in response to: SharpBride

Yes I was especially frustrated because my budget was 3000 for 50 people.  Now, I am in a midwestern town, and I have done a lot myself.  BUT - I wasn't counting rings, the honeymoon, or our travel to the wedding location - twice.  (Have to go and get the license and then go back for the wedding.)  We thought we were doing our guests a favor by not asking them all to pay for travel here (we are 8 hours away, which makes it a toss up between fly or drive) but in doing so, adding all the true costs, we are at 10k!  Our budget tripled when I added in those extras, so I'm wondering if that massive 26k number doesn't include every thing.  I am still doing my wedding and reception for 3,000, I just have other items (many big ticket) I never counted in the true cost of the whole deal. 

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Jun 13, 2007 1:27 PM in response to: SharpBride

I kind of agree . maybe $15,000.00.

Unfortunately, DJs,such as myself only get a small piece of that pie - and yet, we're primarily responsible for the  success of the event .

Sure, you must have good food but try to get a filet mignon to introdce the bridal party or play the music for the first dance, etc.

Remember, a year from now , your guests won't remember whether they had the beef,chicken or seafood entree- but they WILL remember the entertainment ! Don't scrimp in that department . 

Anyway here's the latest from a Conde Nast survey :

 "American Wedding Study 2006," conducted by The Conde Nast Bridal Group, reveals that the average amount spent on weddings has increased to $27,852......,

http://sev.prnewswire.com/household-consumer-cosmetics/20060221/NYTU13421022006-1.html

Bobby K

www.bobkern.com

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Jun 13, 2007 2:23 PM in response to: SharpBride

Yup, you're right that the people who publish that number are people in the bridal industry.  Their average comes from self-reported data from people planning weddings - people who typically come to the bridal industry.  It's people who read "Brides" magazine (the owners of this website) who report their numbers.  And these people, one can assume by virtue of coming to the website, aspire to have a "nice" wedding.  I think that number represents the average cost of a wedding that people who read these magaines aspire to. 

FYI: My wedding budget it $36,000 (not including the dress, honeymoon, or rings) and I'm spending less than virtually everyone I know - the average wedding in the area I live in (D.C.) is $40,000.  In the past 6 months, I've gone to 4 weddings, the cheapest being about $60,000.

I think what happens is that people learn about that number, and then think to themselves, well, it costs $26,000 to have a wedding.  And that's just what they plan.  Like finding out that it costs $40,000 for a college education, or $200,000 for a house in the neighborhood they want to live in.  They just assume that figure is what they should be aiming for and plan (through savings, gifts, or debt) to spend that much.   

------------------------------------------------------------

'To the world you may be no one, but to someone you are the world."

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Jun 17, 2007 10:08 PM in response to: SharpBride

Actually... no. For two reasons.

1) The average cost of a wedding, true, includes $500 backyard weddings as well as $1 million weddings. But when you consider that about one third of this country's population lives in its ten biggest cities--such as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, L.A., Washington D.C., Atlanta, etc--and taking into account how much, for instance, catering costs there (some posh New York City hotels being $250 a person, for example) that pushes up the mean a LOT. I would guess that for large urban centers, the Northeast, and most of CA, the average wedding costs more like $40k, and in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest it's more like $15k.

2) These estimates are actually intended to include everything except the engagement ring and honeymoon. Such as attendant gifts, alterations, favors, wedding rings, the marriage license fee, hairstyling, nail polish, lingerie, tux rental, tax and gratuity, and all the little things that nickle and dime you to death along the way--if you totalled all these I am positive that they will be at least 10% of your overall budget, probably more like 20% (unless your wedding is very high budget).

These girls with $5k or less budgets--I applaud them--that's fantastic and resourceful. But most of them I have noticed don't include some major things in that budget like the wedding rings. And I'm positive that the majority aren't including the tiny nickle and diming charges along the way (marriage license fee, attendant gifts, etc.) in their reports. Unless they are also accountants or in finance or something and actually keep track of all this mess.

Tags: wedding rings  |  budgets

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