Get prepared, eager brides and grooms: Wedding costs are high across the United States. In 2023, The Knot Real Weddings Study revealed the average ceremony and reception cost the happy couple $35,000. While such an outlay may be doable for some couples, it’s far too high for many.
Without plenty of excess cash at your disposal, it’s a good idea to start planning as soon as possible. Inflation and post-pandemic demand is causing the cost of venues, food and service prices to escalate.
To prepare, you’ll need to know how much you’re willing to spend, create a realistic budget, seek bargains and be willing to make sacrifices so you can have enough to pay for the big day.
[Read: Affordable Wedding Venue Ideas.]
Average Cost of a Wedding
The cost of a wedding varies by many factors, including the state in which you live. For example, The Knot study found the average cost in Cleveland was $31,000, while in New York it was $63,000.
Of course, the more elaborate your plans are, the more it will cost. Fees for a courthouse ceremony can be less than $100, while a celebrity-style wedding with a destination location, designer gown, big guest list, top-notch catering and open bar can easily cost more than $100,000.
So, Who Pays for It All?
Although it’s traditional for the parents of the engaged couple to pitch in, a 2024 survey from the online wedding planning company Zola found that most couples contribute to their wedding bills. Rounded up, 32% said they planned to optimize credit cards, 50% said they would money they saved and another 17% said they’d include cash funds on their registries to cover the costs.
Define Your Wedding Budget
The first thing Mindy Rossignol, owner and lead planner at Private Weddings and Events in New Hampshire, does with a couple at the outset of the planning process is prioritize. She asks couples to rank categories on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest priority and 5 being the highest. These categories might include flowers, food and music.
From this point, couples can begin to build a budget. And according to Rossignol, it’s critical that couples do this before booking venues or vendors for the wedding because the process involves isolating what’s truly important to them.
“I say, ‘OK look, you do not have enough money in this category for a band, so where do we want to pull from?’ Say we pull from flowers. You’re going to lose a few extra arrangements,'” Rossignol says.
“We work out the full budget before we start booking anything because that’s where a lot of people get into trouble. They’ll go book their dream venue and realize they spent 70% of their budget and don’t have enough money left over for everything else,” she adds.
If you will be receiving financial assistance from relatives, that money may not be enough to cover all the expenses. Rossignol says it’s common to see couples get help from families but make up the difference by saving for high-priority items like a band instead of a DJ, which would be much less expensive.
Factor in Inflation
Developing a budget will give you a target savings goal, but you should also anticipate rising prices. Work on the assumption that the things you want will cost 5% to 10% more a year or two from now.
Amy Richardson, certified financial planner with Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium, says getting a jump-start on saving can make all the difference. And consulting a financial planner can help you prepare for inflation.
[Read: Where to Find Free Professional Financial Advice]
“For young couples who are balancing competing savings goals, such as a wedding, home or family, creating a budget and committing to a plan are the most important steps on the path to reaching those long-term goals,” Richardson wrote in an email.
“No matter what is happening in the markets or economy, the sooner you start saving, the better,” he added.
Reduce Monthly Expenses
Whether the wedding is a few months or a year or two away, you may decide to cut back on spending leading up to it so you can maximize the amount of cash you can aside.
This might mean reducing dinners out or taking no or fewer vacations. Some additional ideas for cutting expenses might include canceling cable and replacing it with a lower-cost alternative, shopping at thrift stores or sale racks and reviewing your credit card bill for unused or unwanted subscription renewals.
[READ: Track and Manage Subscriptions With These Apps.]
Making little sacrifices on a temporary basis can result in more options when it comes time to choose between the seated five-course meal and the buffet.
Just don’t try to make hard budgetary changes solo.
“Couples can stay true to their own financial capabilities by doing regular financial check-ins with their own finances and checking in with their partner,” says Julia Pham, CFP and wealth advisor at Halbert Hargrove in Long Beach, California.
“Remember that someone else’s finances are in this relationship you are potentially combining with. Stay grounded. You’re marrying a life partner and you should make these decisions together,” she adds.
Increase Income With Part-Time Work
The more you earn and can put toward your goal, the less you’ll have to pare down or borrow. Picking up a bit of extra work on the side or asking for a raise from your employer can help you afford the wedding on your vision board.
“Find random jobs online, through platforms like TaskRabbit and Grubhub,” Pham says.
“Utilize the skills you can capitalize on. If marketing is your thing, you can do some one-off projects. If your partner is handy with tools, see if there are any small jobs they can do locally. Find ways you can both participate in picking up extra work before the wedding so you are both contributing,” she adds.
Save and Invest
As you’re saving for your wedding, you may also be balancing other financial goals, such as your first home purchase. Typically, you should invest money you set aside for big expenses (that are more than three years out) for growth, but carefully weigh the risks associated with different types of investments.
“Savings for short-term goals like a wedding or buying a home should be held in safe, short investment vehicles like high-interest savings accounts or other cash equivalents like short-term treasuries, which will provide more yield than cash to help keep pace with inflation and avoid market volatility risk,” says Lacey Cobb, chartered financial analyst and senior director of advice solutions, portfolio management at Empower in Greenwood Village, Colorado.
Definitely check out certificate of deposit rates, as the yields are particularly high right now. For example, maybe you have a year to plan your wedding. If you were to put $10,000 in a 12-month CD with an APY of 5.41%, the earned interest would be $541. That would take a bite out of your wedding cake bill.
Be Willing to Make Some Sacrifices
If a pricey wedding is truly your top priority, it may be time to sacrifice a few things to make it a reality. For instance, you may want to wait a little longer to have the wedding until you actually have the funds.
“One more year of budgeting, working and saving can put more cash in your pocket to have the wedding of your dreams,” Pham says.
As a team, you and your partner should also decide what you’re willing to forgo when there simply isn’t enough cash available to have it all.
“If having a sit-down dinner for your wedding is a high priority, consider how you might be able to save in other areas, such as choosing a DJ over a live band, etc.,” Richardson wrote in an email.
“Life is about trade-offs, and there are no right or wrong answers. The key takeaway is we can’t always have everything we want, exactly the way we want it. It is about compromise and recognizing that the decisions you make today have a large impact on your future — you don’t want to jeopardize your long-term financial wellness and other important goals,” she said.
Finally, try to relax.
“Planning a wedding is so overwhelming with a lot of financial and mental stress,” Pham says. “It’s likely the biggest party of your life but if you get caught up in the details you’ll drive yourself crazy. It’s not always the décor or party favors that people remember but the more heartfelt moments.”
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How to Save for a Wedding originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 06/04/24: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
