The average wedding just hit $29,000

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ex-khobar Andy
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The average wedding just hit $29,000

Post by ex-khobar Andy »

So CNN is telling us.

Totally fucking ridiculous. Seeing as about 50% of US marriages end in divorce or separation (that link is to a divorce lawyer's website so it must be true) I'd love to see some statistics about the amount spent on the wedding and the lifetime of the marriage. Judging by weddings I have been to for which I know the eventual outcome, I'm guessing there is a negative correlation - ie., the more money spent, the fewer years of marriage.

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BoSoxGal
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Re: The average wedding just hit $29,000

Post by BoSoxGal »

Yes, they’ve done the research- the cheaper the wedding, the longer the marriage.

https://www.cnn.com/2014/10/13/living/w ... index.html

I am a bit confused on the number of guests aspect, because usually many guests equals more expensive and the cheapest weddings are at the JP or in mum and dad’s living room or backyard with just close family and friends.

I also don’t think this research drilled down into whether more folks marrying on the cheap are less able to afford the luxury of divorce, which could be an aspect.

In general I find the wedding industry pretty gross. I actually worked in it in my late teens, I spent a whole summer in Maine working weddings at a venue and after multiple times walking in on marital infidelity happening ON THE WEDDING DAY, at the reception venue, I became very suspect of both marriage and weddings.

Yes I’m a jaded bitch - with good reason.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

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MajGenl.Meade
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Re: The average wedding just hit $29,000

Post by MajGenl.Meade »

Ours was an average wedding. We stayed up all night beforehand making the wedding cake with two of our girl friends. Wedding feast was in dad-in-law's garage with the door open. Family and friends played volleyball. Uncle Gianni (far right) severely injured his shoulder in one game and proved he had a much larger English vocabulary than anyone expected (including Aunt Judy). Cost was on the order of $200 as I recall. 39 years later . . . we'd do it all over again (not the volleyball). Eight of our guests are now dead - nothing to do with the wedding.

Come to think of it, $200 is twice what my first marriage cost, not counting time as money.

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ex-khobar Andy
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Re: The average wedding just hit $29,000

Post by ex-khobar Andy »

Interesting info BSG - thanks for finding it. And apparently the average cost of a wedding in 2013 quoted in that piece - dated 2014 - was $29,858! So ten years ago, before COVID and inflation etc etc it was already over the $29K just quoted for last year.

Burning Petard
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Re: The average wedding just hit $29,000

Post by Burning Petard »

I and my prospective bride wanted a very basic, low-cost wedding. We wanted very much something like what each of our parents had at their wedding.

We wanted to stand up near the end of a regular Sunday morning worship service, in front of the congregation and the minister, and be united in holy matrimony. A Sacrament as defined by our church (we both were members of the same denomination as were our parents.) and all that dogma requires is just as I have described. Her mother had a fit. "We paid for a real wedding for your sister and we will not tolerate anything less for you! Are you trying to embarrass us in front of the whole community? "

As a minister in that same denomination for many years, and the officiator at many weddings, I have regretfully conceded that although the various parties may say they want 'a church wedding' What they really want and expect has little to do with church dogma and teaching. The minister has not much to say about it. If the minister offers too much guidance, they simply go shopping for another minister. The venue for the wedding feast/celebration after the sacrament has been observed, is far more important to all concerned (except perhaps the minister).

snailgate

ex-khobar Andy
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Re: The average wedding just hit $29,000

Post by ex-khobar Andy »

It’s all part of what I think is the most destructive thing about the human race- that obvious and excessive consumption is the measure of value as a person.

Big RR
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Re: The average wedding just hit $29,000

Post by Big RR »

While I'm no fan of excessive showiness, I don't think there's anything wrong with celebrating the moments in our lives, be it birthdays, the birth of a child, marriage, etc. That being said, I do think some go overboard in a can you top this way, especially for weddings, a wedding can be celebrated for a lot less than the amount set out above (and FWIW, all the "reality" wedding shows help to create an asinine expectation among some being married). But why not celebrate when (and if) you can?

Jarlaxle
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Re: The average wedding just hit $29,000

Post by Jarlaxle »

Liz and I were married in a park, by a judge-there were 5 people there. (Legally, that was the minimum at the time.)

Reception was maybe 50-60 people.

Burning Petard
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Re: The average wedding just hit $29,000

Post by Burning Petard »

Come to Maryland. Get the license at a county courthouse. No residency, no medical. 24 hour wait to ensure you spend some money locally. Then get the license signed by two Maryland registered voters. That is it. You are married.

snailgate.

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Sue U
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Re: The average wedding just hit $29,000

Post by Sue U »

Burning Petard wrote:
Tue Jun 06, 2023 2:17 am
Come to Maryland. Get the license at a county courthouse. No residency, no medical. 24 hour wait to ensure you spend some money locally. Then get the license signed by two Maryland registered voters. That is it. You are married.

snailgate.
My (second) wedding we wanted to do in Elkton, MD for just these reasons (also there was a Newberry's 5 & 10 with a lunch counter where we could have the "reception"), but the wedding chapel had had a fire and was closed. We went to a hotel in Baltimore instead and invited the immediate family. It was the right thing to do.
GAH!

Big RR
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Re: The average wedding just hit $29,000

Post by Big RR »

Sounds like a great way to celebrate--and Baltimore is worth the trip on its own.

I got an online ordination when I became the officiant at my daughter's wedding a number of years back, and since then have officiated at the weddings of a number of family and friends' weddings; I even have one coming up in a couple of weeks. They have ranged from backyard and park weddings to some held at wedding reception locations, and all were a lot less than the price quoted; sometimes the more intimate ceremonies, with just close friends and families, are the most memorable.

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Sue U
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Re: The average wedding just hit $29,000

Post by Sue U »

Big RR wrote:
Tue Jun 06, 2023 1:39 pm
Sounds like a great way to celebrate--and Baltimore is worth the trip on its own.
Yeah, I love Baltimore, there's a reason they call it Charm City and it's got a lot of similarities to Philly. My mom is from there as are the Spousal Unit's family. I think our wedding (in 1990) cost about $2k all in, including dinner for 20 at the Peabody.
GAH!

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