The Average Cost Of A Wedding Today

[Mandy]

I know Sheryl, its rediculous. Almost 3 years ago we got married, i wanted it all... and i made sure i had it all.... but my goodness, the price-tags are insane! For a LONG time, i didnt even want to know the total costs. It was perfect, and exactly the way i wanted it.

[Gina]

Yes it is crazy and I know back here in the east it can run much higher than the 26,000. I have one of each and if I am helping with college payments , they will be on their own for weddings. I can give what I can afford...With these prices your better off having a smaller wedding and putting a down payment on a home.

[AngieDoogles]

Originally Posted by Gina

With these prices your better off having a smaller wedding and putting a down payment on a home.

I agree! My hubby and I chose to have a semi small wedding (only 100 people) and we're SO glad we did. We were also lucky enough to have friends who could do the cake, photography, catering, etc. so we didn't have to pay for a lot of stuff. I would much rather have a house than a huge, expensive wedding.

[rivermom]

My parents have friends w/ two girls. Well when it was their time for a wedding the offer was given from the parents to their girls. Either a wedding or a down payment on a home. Well, I know for sure one of the girls opted for the wedding. I am not sure about their other daughter.

I myself would have picked the down payment to a house without a blink of an eye!

I feel weddings can be just as special small and quaint yet I do understand women who "want it all" for their weddings too.

[AngieDoogles]

Originally Posted by rivermom

I myself would have picked the down payment to a house without a blink of an eye!

Me too! I just can't WAIT to be a homeowner. And I still feel that my wedding was lovely even though we didn't have a super huge budget. It was perfect for us. So yes, definitely the house.

[Marilyn]

Some dear friends of ours married 3 years ago. Their parents were not in a position to help plan the wedding and definitely could not help pay for it. The couple had very little funds as well. He was a school teacher at the time and she a college student. They ask me to be their wedding planner and instead of bride's maid and groomsmen, they had 4 significant couples, 2 for the bride and two for the groom. My hubby and I stood with the groom. It was a wonderful experience to help them in this way. With a little creativity, they were able to have a big (~250 guest) church wedding for less than $5,000 (not including the rings). The reception was cake, punch, coffee nuts and mints, no meal or dance, but it was very nice. The reception dinner (50 guests) was at our home. We moved the living room furniture out and setup tables and were able to seat everyone. The largest single expense other than her rings, of course, was the wedding cake. We did not have anyone who could bake it as a gift so we had to use a bakery. The photographer was retired but still had his equipment and took the pictures as a wedding gift with the bride and groom paying him only his costs for the film and processing. The flowers (real) were bought bulk from a shop in a grocery store and a relative made the arrangements, corsages, boutineres, bouquets and such. We even cut greenry for the bouquets and arrangements from shrubbery and ferns in the yards of friends. The dress was from David's Bridal with a friend doing the alterations for free. There were a lot of little details and we did all the decorating the night before. I learned a lot. We printed the invitations with my inkjet printer on some handmade paper we bought at Hobby Lobby. This was a great experience. I kept a binder of what we did for future reference. We have two daughters and are currently putting them both through college.

[AngieDoogles]

Originally Posted by Marilyn

Some dear friends of ours married 3 years ago. Their parents were not in a position to help plan the wedding and definitely could not help pay for it. The couple had very little funds as well. He was a school teacher at the time and she a college student. They ask me to be their wedding planner and instead of bride's maid and groomsmen, they had 4 significant couples, 2 for the bride and two for the groom. My hubby and I stood with the groom. It was a wonderful experience to help them in this way. With a little creativity, they were able to have a big (~250 guest) church wedding for less than $5,000 (not including the rings). The reception was cake, punch, coffee nuts and mints, no meal or dance, but it was very nice. The reception dinner (50 guests) was at our home. We moved the living room furniture out and setup tables and were able to seat everyone. The largest single expense other than her rings, of course, was the wedding cake. We did not have anyone who could bake it as a gift so we had to use a bakery. The photographer was retired but still had his equipment and took the pictures as a wedding gift with the bride and groom paying him only his costs for the film and processing. The flowers (real) were bought bulk from a shop in a grocery store and a relative made the arrangements, corsages, boutineres, bouquets and such. We even cut greenry for the bouquets and arrangements from shrubbery and ferns in the yards of friends. The dress was from David's Bridal with a friend doing the alterations for free. There were a lot of little details and we did all the decorating the night before. I learned a lot. We printed the invitations with my inkjet printer on some handmade paper we bought at Hobby Lobby. This was a great experience. I kept a binder of what we did for future reference. We have two daughters and are currently putting them both through college.

That sounds like the sweetest wedding! That was so nice of you to help out so much! They are very lucky to have you as a friend.