Multi-tiered cakes, elaborate floral displays and choreographed first dances: The traditional white wedding has been long considered a hallmark of American life.
The obsession with lavish weddings grew to a fever pitch in the years following the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, inflation soared — and the average cost of a wedding broke $30,000 for the first time in 2023, according to The Wedding Report, a research company that tracks wedding data.
Now, after two years of elevated inflation eating into consumers’ wealth, for some engaged couples, splurging on a dessert table or extra sprays of flowers, which are the definition of “nice to haves,” has become a much less justifiable decision. That’s bad news for wedding vendors who provide services like videography, photo booths and catering.
Meanwhile, those vendors are facing a more worrisome existential threat: a looming drop in the overall number of weddings.
I honestly don’t understand why it hasn’t died out faster, it’s such a huge waste all around and so much stress for like… some pictures commentating the time you herded cats into the same room and maybe managed to keep them from fighting?
My wife and I were fine with a small wedding, but her parents wanted to invite all their friends to a lavish event. So they booked a very expensive place with the food and told us that was their contribution. We just had to pay for everything else. The photographer, the DJ, the cake, miscellaneous expenses. It all added up. I think we ended up paying around the same as they did, which was approximately double what we had budgeted for our small wedding we wanted. So four times more overall. But we got nice wedding photos and they got their extravagant party with their friends.
Tldr; boomers gonna boom
It depends on who is paying for it.
If parents pay for the wedding, it is generally more extravagant and meant to be a family event. This was generally the case for a lot of people.
Now that the husband and wife are more likely to pay for their own wedding, it has turned more into a party with friends.