Average Wedding Cost - $28,400??? SAY WHAT????

In this case... (for those of you who are mathematically inclined), they are doing the MEAN price (total cost divided by number of wedings). They are not doing the MEDIAN (half of weddings costing more, half of weddings costing less). Damn Sadistics (er, statistics).

The problem with statistics is that they can be interpreted differently. In this case, if you imagine three $10,000 weddings and one $30,000 wedding, the average comes out to $15k. Definitely higher than 3/4 of the weddings. If you used MEDIAN... that would mean the "average" is $10k. But what about the $30k?

And then you have to ask yourself... do you really want "an average wedding"?

And that's our econ lesson for the day.

Your wedding reception is the celebration of your marriage. It can be whatever you want it to be. I've delivered flowers to backyard bbqs where the friends came early to bbq chicken, to million dollar estates (and they DIYed their flowers, too). It's whatever you want, whatever you want to spend money on, and the budget that you have. You are inviting your friends and family to celebrate with you at the first party you have as husband and wife. If that's cake and punch, that's fine!

Yes. that is the average. that number is incredibly low for my area and my circle of friends / family. we had a destination wedding that was about $32K for 50 people... and while everything was 5star (vera wang gown, ritz-carlton etc), that was considered a small budget.

i'll be honest, i had never even HEARD of someone having a wedding for under $20K until i came on WW. and i still dont understand how a lot of brides do it. i think much of the difference has to be geographic location and demand... where i am, a single cocktail easily runs $18 and a date night for me and my husband is usually $250 for drinks and dinner... not to mention hosting any sort of event.

Im just reviewing the breakdown of costs listed and the major differences i see are:

wedding dress for $1211?? dresses average $5K in my circle

tuxedo: $230 would maybe be for a rental, my husbands purchase was $1K

ceremony site and rehearsal dinner are both super low estimates

catering: $63pp!?!?!? maybe for cocktail hour only, ours was 3x that

invitations: $453? no. maybe for save the dates.

Yes, this is average. In Chicago, the average is about $35,000, and so far it seems like we're going to be paying between $35,000-$40,000 for 300 guests (this doesn't include the E-ring or honeymoon).

It does depend on where you live.

The pricing is normal for NJ, however FI and I have a 'small' budget of $12K but that does not include the price of my gown or some of the things listed in the breakdown, we are also having a small wedding where we only guaranteed 65 guests.

$100K houses around here are non-existent and if there are 100K houses they are either in Camden, NJ or are completely decrepit and non-livable.

Oh wow, that is a lot for my area. For the area I'm at, anything over $7k is unheard of. Heck, anything over $3k is unheard of!

I think the only thing I've spent more than the list says is the cake and we splurged big time on that (I'm actually waiting to regret that big purchase, but so far I haven't!)

Sounds about right for my area and my wedding is gonna be around 25k

$12,000 on a venue?? Not in this lifetime.

It depends on where you live and what you have in mind, like everything else. There are lots of ways to cut the budget, but it all starts with cutting the guest list, the size of the bridal party, and being flexible about everything else along the way.

Like the other ladies have said, your location and guest count play a large role in the total price. I actually thought the price in the article was too low! My budget is much more than that but I'm in CA and my guest count is outrageous!

Reception DJ, Reception Band AND Ceremony musicians????

Lol that hurts my soul. We capped it at less than $1500 and it's been super easy to do!

My venue alone is costing 26,000

I get the concept of "if you want it and can afford it, go for it". But HOW THE HELL can you AFFORD it?? Bank loans? Rich parents? Or is everybody surgeons??

Some people just have the funds. Personally I have three contributing parties: parents, grandfather, and fiances parents. I contribute as much as I can! I am getting my dream wedding and I don't want to get knocked for that! Where I live, my wedding is common! Everyone should be happy regardless of funds...right?!?!

I don't give a crap what anyone spends. I wasn't knocking you or anyone else. I was just wondering about "THE HOW". And LOL, by funds, you mean someone else is paying for it.

If I had that much money put away, I'd love to spend that much on a wedding - most of the venues I like in my area are in line with some of those prices. Too bad I've only got a $13-$15k budget.

For @TrishaS. -- my husband and i paid for everything ourselves... all cash, as we did not want to be in debt for the wedding. we are also slightly *older* (haha) than many here, and we made the necessary lifestyle changes for the 14 months to have the wedding we wanted.

i understand your feeling in the reverse to be honest -- when i see brides that say their wedding was $3000 -- that is absolute crazy talk to me, as it seems completely impossible to accomplish... my invitations were $2k!! but again, location, and norms for family / friends, seem to drive a lot of the cost for every bride.

We are spending about $35,000.