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Surprise! People Are Spending Less on Weddings!
By JLP | June 8, 2009
Read this on the WSJ.com website:
The average cost of a wedding in the U.S. was $19,212 in the first quarter, down from $21,814 last year and $26,450 in 2005, according to Wedding Report Inc., a market-research company. A survey by Brides.com earlier this year found that 82% of the couples who responded set a budget before they started planning their wedding, up from 72% in the previous survey in 2006.
I didn’t realize the average cost of a wedding had come down that much. My wife was watching one of those wedding shows the other day and I sat down and watched a little bit with her. It’s crazy what these people do get to married! It’s like each wedding has to be better than the one before it. Maybe the silliness will end.
I would much rather these couples spend some time in pre-marital counseling and taking some financial classes. Marriage is tough and a big fancy wedding does nothing to improve the marriage.
Okay, I’m hopping off my soapbox now…
Topics: Miscellaneous | 6 Comments »
June 9th, 2009 at 8:18 am
Weddings and kids' birthday parties are occasions I think far too much
money is spent on….of course, I'm a man, I understand many women have
somewhat opposing views (particularly about weddings, LoL)
June 9th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Wow, down 27% since 2005? With a drop like that, I'm surprised we haven't started an ambitious wedding vendor bailout program!
Actually, I wonder if the fact that this is average and not median simply means that the fanciest of the fancy weddings actually HAVE toned themselves down significantly. If the million-dollar weddings become quarter-million-dollar weddings, you'd see effects like this, even if most people still spend the same amount as before.
June 9th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
People are spending less on the frills, but hopefully are paying attention to the things that last as long as almost any marriage does – wedding rings!
June 9th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Makes a lot of sense. People want the big full wedding but understand the times and needs that the money could go for more important things for the future like an investment account or an IRA account.
June 10th, 2009 at 1:23 am
Harm, I'm with you and I'm a woman. I'm all for celebrating the special occasions in our lives, but it's the people and not the cash that make them worthwhile.
June 10th, 2009 at 1:29 am
Beth said:
"I'm all for celebrating the special occasions in our lives, but it's the people and not the cash that make them worthwhile."
AMEN!