Spend to Get Married

[Nebulous]

http://www.newser.com/story/203953/heres-how-much-we-spend-to-get-married.html

In what some are calling one sign of an improving economy, if at the expense of newlyweds, a new survey by The Knot finds that the average cost of a US wedding jumped to $31,213 last year, marking a five-year high when adjusted for inflation. In its eighth report, the wedding site reveals in a press release that when it came to the 16,000 brides and grooms married in 2014 and then surveyed, most couples split that bill evenly with the bride's parents: On average, each footed 43% of the bill, with the groom's parents chipping in 12%. In fact, only 12% of couples paid for their weddings themselves. And sticking to the budget is apparently tough: 45% of couples didn't manage to do so (another 23% didn't even make a budget). As for the dress, brides spent an average $1,357.

The survey also found that the most expensive place to wed was Manhattan, where the average price tag was $76,328 (which is actually down almost $10,000 from the previous year), while the least expensive was Utah, where weddings cost less than half the national average at $15,257. Couples are spending more per head, too, as the average guest list shrunk from 149 in 2009 to 136 in 2014. On the subject of marriage and money, according to a February Redfin survey, 38% of millennials say they have or intend to put off marrying so they can afford to buy a home, reports Bloomberg Business. MarketWatch notes the average wedding price happens to be $92 less than a 15% down payment on a $208,700 home—the country's median price last quarter.

Thoughts?

 

[WHO IS SERAFIN]

I guess there are some millenials out there with a brain. Only 38% according to this article but they are out there. Yes have a simple wedding and use that money for your future with a new house.

 

[Jazzy]

The average cost of a US wedding jumped to $31,213 last year. Brides spent an average $1,357 on a dress they'll never wear again. I will never understand spending that much money for a wedding. Definitely not something I would do.

 

[MrDawn]

I guess people can always just get married in front of a judge at a court house and not have a wedding.

 

[Dee]

Many people are stupid and waste money on one day that'll go by very quickly and maybe not be all that fun in the first place (probably more stressful than anything).  I'd rather spend my money on more long-term things like a car or a home, or maybe invest it or stash it away for a rainy day.  I don't even want to get married, so that solves that problem.

 

[~KAGE-008]

I guess people can always just get married in front of a judge at a court house and not have a wedding.

I second this too. Not everyone is going to spend lots of money on a 'premium' wedding, to be honest.

 

[Nebulous]

I know quite a few people who have had simple weddings or just a court house wedding and then a party at someones house afterwords. Still fun and memorable. No need to go all out if it's beyond your means.