Reality Check: 40 Percent of Couples Spend $10,000 or Less on Their Weddings

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We know a lot of people were shocked to hear that the average cost of a wedding had surpassed $30,000, but this news is perhaps even more surprising: According to The Wedding Report, a research company that tracks wedding trends based on government data and daily surveys, nearly 40 percent of  couples who tied the knot in 2014 spent $10,000 or less on their weddings.

Yes, you read that right, only $10,000.

To give you some perspective, The Wedding Report noted that the average amount spent on a wedding last year was around $26,400, so a bit lower than The Knot’s estimate of $31,213. That’s common though—averages can be skewed based on where the data is gathered from (in places like Manhattan, services come with higher costs).

The people who do manage to throw a wedding with such a small budget, says The Wedding Report CEO Shane McMurray, are “basically just not spending money on certain things. They’re not spending $20,000 on the venue. Maybe they did it in someone’s backyard.”

With a little prioritizing and strategizing, it certainly can be done! To read more about these numbers, and for tips about how to cut your wedding budget, go here.

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