The Average Wedding Now Costs $33,931

If you got engaged for Valentine’s Day, congrats!  Now here comes the pain . . .

The Knot just released its annual “Real Weddings Study,” which found the average wedding in America last year cost a whopping $33,931.  That’s $600 more than 2017, but down about $1,400 from two years ago.

Manhattan was by far the most expensive place to get married . . . at just under $97,000 on average.  Long Island is next at $66,409, then Chicago at about $60,000.  At the other end of the spectrum, it only cost $16,366 to get married in Idaho.

Here’s a breakdown of costs, and what the average couple spent last year . . .

The average wedding dress was $1,631 compared to just $283 for the groom’s outfit.  The wedding photographer, about $2,700 . . . wedding band, $4,247 . . . DJ, $1,292 . . . flowers, $2,411 . . . liquor, $2,564 . . . food, $70 per guest . . .

The average bridesmaid’s dress cost $142 . . . wedding cake, $528 . . . rehearsal dinner, $1,297 . . . and the average reception venue was an insane $15,439.

Here are five more stats about the average wedding . . .

1.  The average wedding last year had 136 guests.  (If you do the math on food at $70 per person, that means the average catering bill was $9,520.)

2.  The most popular month to get engaged is December, and the most popular month to get married is September.  The average engagement lasts just under 14 months.

3.  The average bride is 29 years old, and the average groom is between 30 and 31.

4.  Some traditional wedding stuff isn’t as popular as it used to be.  Only 33% of weddings last year included a garter toss . . . just 45% of brides tossed their bouquet . . . 49% of all weddings were officiated by a friend or family member . . .

And having ONLY female bridesmaids and male groomsmen is less common now.  28% of brides had men in their bridal party . . . a.k.a, “bridesmen.”  And 11% of grooms had female groomsmen . . . a.k.a., “groomsmaids.”  7% of weddings also incorporated a pet in some way.

5.  Only 6% of couples who set a wedding budget last year actually stayed UNDER budget.

(The Knot)