I was reading a wedding thread in the Pit, and someone mentioned the price of the average wedding, and what you could do with that much money. I know the industry claims the average US wedding costs around $20,000 now, but most people I talk to have much, much smaller budgets than that.
So, how much did you spend getting married? Please include where you are/were at the time, since there’s a huge difference in price between punch and cake in the fellowship hall, as is the norm where I grew up, and the dinner/dance for 200 that seems to be the norm in the Northeast. Also include the year, as inflation tends to make a big difference.
We’ve only been married six months, so the rough figures are still pretty fresh for me.
For our wedding:
Dress: $135 plus $20 for alterations
Shoes:$40
Jewelry:$15
Veil: $6
Shirt and Tie: $45
Rings: $50 for gold tanzanite ring, plus matching hematite bands to wear at work
Flowers: $50
Decorations for reception site: $70
Reception, site and food: $950
Minister: $150
License: $27
Week in B&B in New Orleans: $2000
Food and Gas: not sure, but less than $500, certainly.
Sooo, for wedding, honeymoon, and all related paraphanalia, we were looking at the $4,000 neighborhood.
It’s a little less than most of my friend’s spent on their wedding, but of course they had a lot more than 30 guests and had professional photography. Of course, they didn’t have destination weddings so cool that confirmed nocturnals said were worth getting up at 4 in the morning for.