Why Weddings Costs So Much

Photo Credit: www.thesantacruzexperience.com

Wedding couples have always asked why things cost so much as they pertain to the wedding experience.  The truth of the matter is that, for the most part, people aren’t out to gouge the pockets of wedding couples.  What they are out to do, however, is make a living.

The three biggest expenses of most wedded couples are the wedding rings, the wedding dress, and the reception.  There are a lot of other expenses, but they pale in comparison to these most of the time.  Let’s take a look at these three items.

When it comes to wedding rings, there’s cheap and then there’s expensive; there is no in between, as much as someone would try to lead you to believe.  At least for women’s rings.  Most women’s wedding rings start at $1,000, which isn’t inexpensive in anyone’s minds.  Yet, take a look at a ring at that price and you don’t see much.  The average price for women’s rings is between $3,500 and $4,500; that’s an astounding figure, which means rings on the higher end cost almost as much, if not more, than a small car.  Because a wedding ring has become more of a status symbol than a representation of a couple’s commitment to each other, it’s hard to imagine that the price of rings will go down any time soon.

Let’s take a look at wedding dresses.  The average wedding dress costs more than $1,000 itself.  And this is for something that a bride will only wear once in her life, then store away in a box and possibly never look at again.  A wedding dress is another symbolic thing that’s supposed to highlight a bride, and even though some weddings only last 10 minutes, brides feel that if they’re not looking absolutely outstanding that their day is ruined.

Wedding dresses are one area where brides actually do have a lot of options.  The truth is that there are lots of discount designer wedding dresses they could purchase that may come in at less that $300, and with a little bit of work would look brand new and exciting and no one would know the difference.  In today’s economy, more brides are looking in that direction, but there’s still a lot of brides willing to shell out $4,500 for the latest Vera Wang creation.

The final thing to look at is the reception.  The average cost of a reception is around $11,000; that’s an astonishing dollar amount, and there’s few things that can match up to it.  Receptions include food, cake, music, and possibly pictures.  They include decorations, sometimes staff, and clean up.  Once again, here’s an area where a lot of costs can potentially be saved with some forethought.  Do you need a sit down meal?  Do you need cloth rather than paper on the tables?  Do you need a 7-tiered cake?

Throwing out the wedding rings, which isn’t even considered when surveys are taken as to how much average wedding costs are, there is great potential for wedding couples to save a lot of money on things they may not need.  If they still want them, they can find other areas to cut expenses.  Have a great wedding, but don’t put yourself into debt you may never get out of for one day of fun.

See more:
Average Cost of A Wedding
Traditional Wedding Expenses Checklist
How Much Does Each Aspect of A Wedding Cost