U.S. wedding costs soar

Washington Times ^ | 6-15-06 | AP

[JZelle]

The cost of weddings in the United States has soared to a point some of today's younger generation may be turning away from the ritual. Courtney Martin, whose article on marriages appears in the Christian Science Monitor, seems to be one. She says a typical wedding in 1990 cost $15,208, compared to $4,376 in 1980. Martin, who has no immediate plan to wed her friend of seven years, says that wedding today will set a couple back $22,360, or enough for private college tuition for their future child if that sum is invested at 10 percent return. "Truth be told, we (she and her boyfriend) avoid the topic of walking down the aisle because it is so inextricably tied up with gross, conspicuous consumption," she writes. "We have watched friends get sucked into the tidal wave that is the emotionally manipulative wedding industry -- now totaling $50 billion in sales a year." Saying the marriage ritual has turned into "a circus of decadence," Martin says, "Not only is the egregious spending offensive in a world where too many have too little, but the meaning of the ritual is all but lost amid the designer dresses and lobster dinners."

[mouse_35]

My daughter got married in March. We had a small ceremony with just the parents, grandparents and two friends of the bride and groom. Including the wedding dress (which my daughter found on sale for less than $300.00) the entire thing cost right around $1200.00. Most of that was for the B&B where she was married. It CAN be done inexpensively if you WANT to.

[RMDupree]

Viva Las Vegas, hon. ;-)

[mouse_35]

OOPS. I didn't mean to post twice.

[morans14]

That's what my hubby and I did. We went to Vegas and got married with Elvis at 10:30 a.m. on a Tuesday. It is my favorite memory.

[Red Badger]

A young man who isn't committed will grab at ANY reason not to get married..........My daughter's boyfriend........Grrrrr don't get me started............

[AppyPappy]

Why ruin a good party with a marriage, I always say.

[dfwgator]

Weddings aren't for the bride or groom, they are for the mother of the bride.

[inkling]

I have two toddler girls. I plan to give them each a $10K wedding gift. They can use that for a wedding, a honeymoon, appliances... whatever. But if I were them, I would do a quick ceremony at church, then start looking at real estate.

[Red Badger]

Elopements are looked down upon in some ethnic communities......

[Red Badger]

Weddings aren't for the bride or groom, they are for the mother of the bride. And the Father OTB to "complain" about the costs........

[Red Badger]

With Elvis or BY Elvis?..........

[CT-Freeper]

My wife and I married almost a year ago - July 29th.

My wife is very frugal with money, so we shopped around for deals and made cuts here and there. For example, the reception hall was going to charge us $65/head for dinner, but we negotiated it down to $45/head by reducing the 5-hour open bar to 1 hour and making it a buffet-style dinner instead of waiter served.

For flowers, we went to a wholesaler instead of a private florist and made our own bouquets and centerpieces.

For the limo, my brother-in-law had a friend whose family owns a funeral parlor, so we got to use the limo for free (just had to tip the driver).

There's lots of ways to save for weddings.

[Ramius]

Wow... $20+Kilodollars for a one day party?

That just strikes me as silly. Just starting out a life together and the first thing you do is pour a nice nest egg down the drain.

[Pukin Dog]

A shared six-pack and a couple of lobster can be just an intimate and memorable.

[TASMANIANRED]

Cost of fancy pants weddings is up.

You can still do it for the cost of a liscense.

[LanPB01]

I got married in March at a small chapel for about $500, and that included two nights in a cabin. My wife and I agreed spending a large amount on a ceremony was a bad idea.

[twigs]

I got married 9 years ago and spent under $3,000 total with over 100 guests. We sat down and figured out our circumstances and what we could use in our favor to save costs. We did that and it worked beautifully.

[MD_Willington_1976]

$1500 Canadian, that was in 2000... pretty cheap, more like $700 USD then, my wife planned all of it... She's the CGA of the house.

[freedumb2003]

There's no evidence that a big, fancy wedding does any more to solemnize the occasion than a simple garden wedding.

I would go as far as to say that people who spend more than they can comfortably afford put themselves in a HUGE bind to start the marriage out.

Sex and money are the 2 biggest reasons for divorce. Why exacerbate either?

[posterchild]

I wonder if, at these prices, it would be just as cheap to charter a small jet and fly your guests to someplace where you could get cheap catering, hall rental, etc.