WASHINGTON — It’s getting more expensive to tie the knot in the nation’s capital.
Wedding planning site The Knot surveys the recently married every year to determine the average amount of money couples spend on their wedding. The average cost in D.C. and the surrounding suburbs rose to $40,176 in 2016. That’s up from $37,704 the year before.
That’s also higher than the nationwide average — $35,329, a record high.
And that doesn’t include the honeymoon.
The Knot’s 10th annual report surveyed 13,000 brides and grooms who got married in 2016. It added up what’s spent on the reception, music, flowers and decorations, tuxedos and gowns, the cake, the invitations, the transportation, the rehearsal dinner, and the photographer or videographer.
The most expensive city to get married in was New York City, at $78,484.
Parents are paying most of the wedding bills, with the bride’s parents covering an average 44 percent of expenses, and another 13 percent, on average, coming from the groom’s parents.
The venue for the reception tops the list of expenses, at an average $16,107. The photographer, the wedding planner and the band area the next most expensive.
