How much does a wedding in the United States cost?

This is something people can’t really give one answer for as it will greatly vary depending on what you do. I’ve heard of weddings that cost $2,000, but I’ve also heard of ones that were $100,000!


I recommend you come up with a vision of what you and your spouse are wanting, then start looking at venues that will fit that. All-inclusive ones tend to be a better deal because you don’t have to rent tables, chairs, bring in outside food/drink, etc.

There is no normal/average cost of a wedding. The cost greatly varies depending on location, number of guests, the formality of the wedding, and what vendors you would decide to have. For example, some people choose to hire a videographer others skip it so obviously you'd spend more if you have more vendors. You'd need to sit down and figure out exactly what you guys would want and then go from there. I guess my confusion is why you guys got married if your husband wanted a normal wedding.

View Quoted Comment The reason why we got married is because we’ve been in a long distance relationship for 4 years and this was the easiest way to be together, planning a wedding oversea is not easy. Of course I know that the prices may vary, but for example where I come from the average wedding with 100 guests costs around 20K, and that’s what most people spend. I just wanted to know the average price of a wedding in the US

View Quoted Comment Thank you very much for your reply, I guess that with 30/40K we should be able to have a decent wedding then.

Do you know what state you might have your reception? This will impact costs. Often couples choose a location close to where they live now or where one of them had grown up (to make travel easier for guests).

View Quoted Comment No problem! And to address your question about whether guest count correlates to cost, I’d say it sort of does, but then again some people may make cuts or splurges in certain aspects for a certain budget to be met.

View Quoted Comment Unfortunately that's hard to say but you can definitely plan a wedding for 20k. It might be more difficult depending on where the wedding would take place. We got married in Pennsylvania where I'm from and it was about 25k but if we would have gotten married in New Jersey where my husband is from we would have either had to increase our budget or make cuts in things we wanted for our wedding. Does your husband have friends or family that recently got married? If so maybe ask them if they'd be willing to share approximately how much the wedding cost.

I’m from NY and I got married in Maryland. If we got married here in NY it would’ve been way more expensive than it was in Maryland which is why we looked out of state in the first place. We had 48 people and spent around $30k and it wasn’t very fancy lol. But $10,500 of that was just our photographer/ videographer. You can definitely make $20k work depending on the state but you may have to get creative with some things. Good luck!

My wedding would be in Dallas, my husband comes from California and has a lot of family in Chicago too but I’m not going to plan a wedding out of state. The budget would be at most 40K, but from what I’ve understood I was right, here it’s a lot more expensive than in Italy. Thank you very much for all your replies.

A courthouse ceremony *is* a wedding, even if the current generation doesn’t agree, and it’s disrespectful to those who intentionally chose to elope that way to say that it is not a “real” wedding as is the current trend to do so. One cannot have a second wedding without a divorce in between. Anything after the legal wedding (ceremony and reception held the same day for all invited guests at both) is a vow renewal.


That said, there is no one size fits all average cost. Magazines and online articles say that the bare minimum national average in the current time post-Covid is roughly $40,000USD, and doesn’t allow for any budget options, as those are taboo according to the Wedding Industry. But that price varies drastically depending on your location and what you want to have included. A major city has a wider range of prices from super inexpensive to astronomical. A smaller town may be more or less expensive depending on supply and demand and limited resources. No one should ever be shamed for choosing to have a wedding that is less than the “national average”, whether due to choice or not.
Based on our experience (in high cost of living area) and those of friends/family (in lower cost of living areas), a blank slate venue offers more flexibility at a lower cost. Many are owned by the local parks department and they automatically include basic amenities such as tables, chairs and a full kitchen, which is where a majority of rental costs are spent. Restaurant drop off catering is less expensive than a regular caterer and they provide more food that you already know you love at a lower cost. However, you may need to hire event staff from Thumbtack.com to serve and clean up. Catering companies that offer bartenders are economical because they charge a flat per person rate for alcohol. Grocery stores offer delicious wedding cakes at half the price and they also have full service florists in store. Or you can DIY through FiftyFlowers.com