Average Wedding Costs More Than $27,000

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A new study out by Pew Research, The Wedding Report and the U.S. Census Bureau says that the average wedding today costs upwards of $27,000. Nearly half of that is eaten up by the catering (ha, see what we did, there?) and the venue. And at least 17 percent of the time, the couple is paying for a least part of the bill themselves.

We believe the $27K, but probably would have guessed the percentage would be higher for the amount of couples contributing to the wedding with their own money. Seems we hear more and more of brides and grooms either opting to cover some of the costs themselves so as to retain control of particular items that are important to them, because they’re getting married a little bit later in life and can afford to, or, simply, because that’s the way it is. (We are especially impressed with this couple who threw a lovely wedding for 100 people for under $4,000.)

What do you think? Are you surprised by that average?

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