Getting Married? Better Set Aside $50,000 If You Live In San Francisco!

Posted on 12 January 2010 by



Photo Courtesy of NewLuxuryItems

OK, so maybe it is the fact that I have been married since before laptops with color screens, the web, IM, texting … or before the stone age as far as our kids are concerned, but when I saw the numbers it took my breath away. Since a couple of folks here are anticipating upcoming nuptials, I thought it appropriate to look at just how much folks are paying for weddings around the country according to an article at BridePop.

Here is a stunning graphic showing average costs around the country for the 2.5 million annual weddings:

There are tons of interesting facts on that graphic – available in a larger version on the BridePop site – but I was actually surprised that my younger sister paid more for her gown in 1991 than the ‘average’ current cost in San Francisco! Some things have obviously skyrocketed in price, but others seem to have grown at a more reasonable rate. Then again, these are only averages, which never shows the full range of possibilities!

As an interesting contrast, read the article from USAToday last July titled “Couples say ‘I don’t’ to expensive weddings.”

Either way, the big, fat boom-time wedding of the past few years has been deflated. “People are really changing their mind-set from over-excess to really trying to be more frugal and saving, like how my parents’ generation thinks,” says Christina Joo Sethi, 31, who rented the diamond and gold drop earrings she wore at her wedding in February.

The recession is “teaching people to rethink how they were living their lives before, and I think it’s a good thing,” says Sethi, a former health care consultant from New York. “I think it was really was getting out of control.”

So … what are your thoughts on getting married in the 2010′s?

Source: BridePop via Consumerist

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  • http://www.dailytechdiva.com Jessica Fritsche

    Personally, I think those averages are usually unfairly skewed by the handful of ridiculously lavish and expensive weddings each year in a major city. Some of the Dallas weddings are RIDICULOUS.

    I also think more people need to open up their eyes and realize that you can have an amazing wedding on a smaller budget and scale, like that USA Today article talks about. When I got married 3 years ago, we had a pretty strict budget. The whole shebang had to cost $10K or less, which goes surprisingly fast when you’re inviting 150 people, renting a venue and hiring a caterer.

    We lucked out–we found the perfect venue for both the wedding AND reception, the caterer was reasonably priced, and we could bring in our own alcohol. We found a florist who did exactly what I wanted for the flowers–and we’re talking big bouquets, centerpieces for the tables, boutonnieres, PLUS a lavish, large arrangement that she put together for free “since she had extra flowers”–for under $1000. That is UNHEARD OF. I made our invitations by hand to give them the fancy, expensive look I wanted for a fraction of the price of buying them. I got a designer dress on sale (yet it still cost the same amount as my rent, yeesh). I found my jewelry on a clearance rack. I rented sound equipment and had a family member DJ because he did it as a hobby on the side.

    It took a little extra work and planning, plus some compromises, but our wedding was incredibly elegant, classy, and fun…and way cheaper than anyone suspected.

  • http://www.geardiary.com Michael Anderson

    Jessica – being a statistician I certainly realize that an average by itself is fairly meaningless, and I think it would be interesting to see how costs have changed through the years. The graph says ’23% for photo & video’, which is much higher than what we had, but those were very different times indeed. We also benefited from things like our cake coming from a woman with a home business and so on – and since we paid for 95% of it ourselves, that made a difference!

    I have seen wedding parties in a few places shopping or getting ready, and more than a couple of times the whole ‘bridezilla’ thing, with the attitude of ‘it is MY day, I don’t care what it costs’ runs rampant. Marriage is challenging enough as it is, but starting on such a acrimonious basis cannot help … communication, honesty, compromise, working together and financial responsibility are things everyone can benefit from and are key things to helping ease through the tough times in a marriage.

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