How Much Does A Wedding Cost?
Weddings are quite possibly the biggest event in one’s life, and it makes sense that they are one of the most expensive days. While the amount you spend on your wedding is ultimately up to you, we’ve put together a basic idea of what the average person spends on their wedding.
According to The Knot, the average cost for a wedding in 2017 was $33,391. That can be more than a down payment for a house! Don’t freak out quite yet. Let’s take a look at where The Knot sees people putting their money.
The Average Wedding Budget
Here’s the average wedding breakdown, according to The Knot:
-Venue: $16,107
-Photographer: $2,783
-Reception band/music: $4,156
-Florist: $2,534
-Videographer: $1,995
-Wedding dress: $1,564
-Groom’s attire: $280
-Wedding cake: $582
-Ceremony Site: $2,197
-Ceremony musicians: $755
-Invitations: $462
-Transportation: $859
-Favors: $268
-Rehearsal dinner: $1,378
-Engagement ring: $6,163
-Officiant: $278
-Catering (price per person): $71
-Wedding day hair care: $119
-Wedding day make-up: $100
Now obviously the cost of your wedding is going to depend heavily on the number of guests you invite, how elaborate your engagement ring is, and where you find your venue. Here are a few tips to help you cut the costs of an average wedding drastically.
Save on the Venue
$16k is a LOT to spend on a venue, especially when you can find an amazing wedding venue in Georgia (ahem) for under $10k.
Take time to sift through venue packages. A couple of hours of research is definitely worth a few thousand dollars.
Avoid Saturday weddings during peak seasons. You can save thousands by moving your peak season Saturday wedding date to an off-season Sunday wedding date.
Save on the Catering
With the average cost of $71 per person for catering, you could easily be spending over $10,000 on food for just 150 guests!
Save on the catering by exploring different food options. Rather than the traditional sit-down, fancy catered meal, look into buffet-style catering. You can still get fancy food, but without all the extra staff to pay, this can easily save you 25-75% on total dining costs.
Shave a few people off the invitation list. Now, if you’re set on having a three-four course meal and your average cost per person will stay at $71 per person, shaving even just 15 people from the guest list can save you over $1,000.
Save on the Dress
Let’s face it. You’re going to wear this dress for one day –not even a full day, MAYBE one hour– do you really need a $1,500 dress? You can rent a wedding dress for the day for as low as $200. Renting a dress can save you over $1,000.
If you do want your own wedding dress to show your girls someday and even get priceless pictures of them in, you can purchase one from cheaper sites such as Nordstrom, Reformation, Light in the Box and get your dress for as low as $50.
Save on the Photographer
Instead of hiring photographers for a flat fee or a day rate, look into hiring someone on an hourly rate. You probably don’t need a photographer there for all 3 hours of the reception. Maybe an hour for the ceremony and an hour for the reception.
Save on the Site
One of the easiest ways to save on your wedding site is to have the site and the venue at the same location. This way you get discounted rates and it’s also super convenient for everybody!
