Wedding Costs

Tis the season, not for weddings necessarily, however a family friend got married over Thanksgiving break and I am going to another wedding this weekend.  In addition to the two recent weddings, I have already received "save the date's" 6 weddings in 2013, one in June, one in July, one in August, one in September and two in October.  While I'm thinking of my costs, (wedding gifts, travel expenses and dresses for the 2 October weddings that I'm in), I can't help but think of how much money will be spent by the brides and grooms and their families.  I was curious, so I decided to look into what the average wedding costs these days.  $25,361 was the amount I found.  While it all depends on where the wedding and reception are held, how nice the meal is, how many guests are attending and everything else that goes into a wedding, I feel like that number is pretty fair.  I found a website that had the costs broken down into categories:

While I highly doubt many or even any of the weddings I attend in 2013 will cost this amount, I think it is interesting and helpful to see where and what "uses" most of the budget.  To me it is important to rank expenses in order of importance.  Pictures last much longer than the food, therefore I would rather spend the money to get an amazing photographer and sacrifice some of the catering budget.  I also think it is important to remember that the wedding is one day (or a weekend) and the marriage is forever (?) so I certainly don't want to be paying off my wedding expenses 10 years later.  I know my "dream" wedding could easily cost $25,000 but at the same time, that is a new car, and a new car is more of a necessity than an extravagant wedding.  Having a budget, sticking to it and making smart consumer decisions when it comes to a wedding is key in my opinion.