Tips to Have a Beautiful Wedding Way Below the Average Wedding Cost

Many newly engaged couples experience sticker shock at the cost of wedding-related goods and services. From buying an engagement ring, selecting a wedding cake, wedding favors, or even a wedding dress– it’s common for the expense of having a traditional wedding to come as a surprise to first-time wedding planning couples.

It’s important to be armed with some knowledge of what to expect regarding what a wedding costs before you embark on your planning process. Before you can truly relish every moment your wedding day has to offer, you will need to dig deep into budgets and come to conclusions on plenty of wedding questions.

What Factors Make Up the Cost of a Wedding? There are a host of factors that play into the overall cost of a wedding. There are averages to consider (and toss aside). The location where your wedding takes place accounts for several factors, such as the average cost of living where your wedding professionals reside.

What is the Average Cost of a Wedding? Sharing the average cost of a wedding can be a dangerous subject to tackle because averages are a bit problematic. They can be important to touch on because averages can provide somewhat of a baseline of potential costs.

Take Averages with a Grain of Salt The averages reported by The Knot are important, but they don’t tell the whole story. Keep in mind, for an average to be reported, there must be people and residents of specific states spending more than the average and less than the average.

Planning a Wedding on a Smaller Budget is Possible If you want to save money and plan a wedding on a budget, it’s absolutely possible with a little research, time, and effort. The short version of a long story: don’t pay attention to averages or allow them to influence your spending.

Why Do Wedding Professionals Charge So Much? Understanding the average wedding cost and putting it in context also requires understanding how certain wedding expenses are priced. To understand how (and why) a wedding professional sets the rates for their services, one of the best things to do is to consider your own salary.

Wedding Experience and Expertise Come at a Cost Extensive expertise and experience make that individual’s time, talents, and energy worth more per hour. Hiring an experienced pro will come at a higher cost than a newbie, and most of the time, the results will also be commensurate with the cost.

How Should We Decide How Much We Want to Spend on Our Wedding? The amount you and your partner decide to invest into your wedding day is entirely up to you. Before you begin researching wedding day details, we encourage you to pause and meet with everyone contributing financially toward your big day budget.

A Wedding Costs What You’re Willing and Able to Spend on it. In closing, a wedding day costs what you want it to cost. Your wedding budget should be determined based on a mixture of your personal financial situation, your values, your priorities, and your overall financial goals for your life together.

There are plenty of articles explaining what you “can” and “should” do for your wedding day. But, make sure to stop and consider what you want to do. Then, choose to remember that averages are simply suggestions and that hiring professional help comes at a cost. Essentially, a wedding should cost what you can realistically afford and feel comfortable spending.

Swipe Up to read more about Tips to Have a Beautiful Wedding Way Below the Average Wedding Cost