NEW YORK — Although rates of marriage have declined in recent years, that hasn’t seemed to affect the price of having an actual wedding. A 2017 study finds getting hitched will set you back more than ever before.
The wide-ranging research conducted by The Knot, a preeminent brand and marketplace for newlyweds, examined 13,000 American couples who were wed during 2016. In its tenth iteration of its annual Real Weddings Study, The Knot hoped to uncover the latest trends pertaining to wedding-related spending and habits.
Perhaps their biggest finding was that the cost of the once-in-a-lifetime event has reached an all-time high at $35,329, despite a drop in average attendance for any given wedding. A big reason for the increase in cost has been pricey entertainment; the study found that an increase in extravagant guest entertainment, in particular, has led to the cost of this facet of the experience quadrupling since 2009.
With this being said, the variance in wedding cost was found to be rather dramatic. A wedding in Manhattan will likely set you back nearly $80,000; conversely, the same ceremony in Arkansas is a comparatively-paltry $19,500.
Other figures found included: the average amount spent on a wedding dress ($1,564); the average marrying age (men 31 and women 29); the average number of guests (141); and the average length of engagement (15 months).
One of the quirkier findings may be that 19% of newly-weds report that some of their guests hooked up at their wedding. Ex-lovers aren’t off-limits either; nine percent of respondents indicated that either they or their partner— if not both— had a former partner in attendance at the wedding.
With arguably less competition, couples are still looking to make their special day one that everyone will remember!
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