Why do weddings just keep getting more expensive?

As wedding costs trend upward, some couples are now charging guests to attend to offset their sky-rocketing wedding expenses — and wedding debt.

As the Deseret News previously reported, one New York couple charged their guests $333 each to pay for their $70,000 wedding.

According to People , the couple “charged guests to enter their wedding as if it were a ticketed event.” The $333 fee gives guests “a seat on a double-decker tour bus and entry to the 12-hour event, which included stops at sentimental landmarks around New York City.”

And in August, Chron reported that a Houston couple claimed they’d charge guests $450 each to attend their $200,000 wedding. The groom said that the hefty fee helped cover “the cost of a cake, a deposit for the venue, the wedding dress, a DJ, and a photographer.”

What’s the average wedding cost in 2024?

The average cost of weddings has risen over the years. As Forbes reports, a study from Zola, an online wedding planner, found that the average wedding cost in 2024 is $33,000.

The average in previous years was slightly lower, the study found:

• $29,000 in 2023
• $30,000 in 2022

The Zola study found that the state with the highest average wedding cost in 2024 was Rhode Island at $49,207. The lowest was South Dakota, at $15,625.

For reference, the average down payment on a house in 2024 is $34,248, according to Forbes .

Why are weddings so expensive?

The Zola study found that more couples are budgeting anywhere between $30,000 and $50,000 for their big day.

According to a 2023 Axios article , the hefty price tag stems, at least in part, from the fact that we’re in “the era of over-the-top weddings.”

Axios attributes the end of the pandemic to the boom of extravagant weddings, as well as “inflation and high demand.”

In a 2023 study, 83% of wedding vendors polled said “the cost to run their business will increase in 2023,” according to CNBC . Over 77% of vendors polled said they increased their rates in 2023.

Additionally, as Forbes reports, the average couple will hire “an average of 10 wedding professionals, or vendors, for their big day,” according to The Knot, a wedding planning website.

According to Forbes, the most expensive wedding costs in 2024 are:

• Reception venue: Costs an average of $6,500 to $12,000 for 100 people.
• DJ or live band: Costs an average of $2,000 to $7,000.
• Photographer and/or videographer: A photographer will cost an average of $3,000 to $6,000, while a videographer ranges from $3,500 to $6,500.
• Flowers and additional decor: Costs an average of $2,500 to $6,000.

Is it normal to go into debt for a wedding?

As a result of the sky-rocketing cost of weddings, some couples are going into wedding debt. According to a 2024 study by U.S. News , 56% of couples polled “went into debt to pay for their wedding.”

Out of the percentage of those who went into wedding debt:

• Forty-eight percent said that they weren’t planning on going into debt for their wedding.
• Forty-two percent “regret going into debt over wedding expenses.”

Additionally, 31% of those polled said they “regret how much they spent on their wedding.”