What Does The Average Wedding Now Cost? More Than A College Education And Funeral Combined

Everyone knows weddings are expensive, and continue to be more expensive by the year. Between the perfect dress, hors d’ouevres, invitations, music, reception entrée and open bar, it’s easy to see why the cost of a wedding is unfathomable to many. And even though the average amount of invited guests tends to decrease each year, the cost of the wedding itself still has increased. In fact, it costs about the same as the average annual salary in the state of Mississippi. It costs more than the average four year college degree. It costs more than the average funeral. It costs more than the average four year college degree and average funeral combined.

So what is the average price tag? Approximately $31,000 according to NewsOK. But that’s just the national average – state and city averages might truly make your jaw drop. In Manhattan, your average nuptial event runs about seventy five thousand dollars. If you want to go cheap, Utah sports an average wedding cost of $16,000 – that’s the lowest in the country.

What is included in that $31,000? The usual – wedding gown, flowers, music, food, rings, invitations, venue. What it does not include is the honeymoon – which may increase the price tag significantly.

The good news in all of this is that divorce rate has not only stabilized, it has been trending towards a decrease. It’s difficult to put a definitive percentage, because many factors play into an annual divorce rate. But, we do know that the older the couple is when they marry, the more likely they are to stay married. in 2014, the average age of a first time bride in the U.S. was 29 and groom was age 31. That puts the likelihood of divorce somewhere around 33 percent – not the 50 percent we’ve always heard.

There’s a lot of things about weddings that seem to stay the same – more couples get engaged in December than any other month, the most common month to marry is June (15 percent) followed by October (14 percent). The average number of bridesmaids and groomsmen holds steady at 4 to 5 for about a decade now, but one thing that seems to be changing is a preferred wedding color – navy blue has more the tripled in the past year as a favorite wedding color.

So, new brides and grooms, take heart. Your marriage is more likely to last than if you had married a decade ago, but your wedding is still going to cost more than your college education and your funeral combined. That’s a sobering thought, so while you’re busy spending $31,000 on your big event, you may as well indulge in some good wine.