With the cost of weddings skyrocketing, more and more brides and grooms are looking to get married without spending a fortune.
According to a recent study by wedding research firm The Knot, the national average wedding cost in 2023, including both the ceremony and reception, was $35,000, up $5,000 from the national average in 2022. California’s average wedding cost was $41,000, the fourth most expensive in the country.
Inflation and rising labor costs have driven up the cost of wedding goods and services. Honeymoon costs, on average, were $5,700. Young couples are turning to destination weddings, TikTok weddings, and DIY weddings to cut down on wedding costs.
Destination weddings
Destination weddings are popular with younger couples because they can combine a wedding and honeymoon in a luxury resort or travel to a destination and save on associated costs. In 2022, 18% of weddings worldwide were destination weddings, with 1 in 4 couples in the U.S. opting for a destination wedding. Popular locations include Cancun, Nevada, Costa Rica, Florida, and California.
“Younger couples are opting for small weddings with just a few family members and friends,” said an expert, adding, “It’s a great way to be with loved ones on a meaningful day, and it’s a great way to save money by combining a wedding and honeymoon in a low-cost country or resort.”
For example, nonstop roundtrip airfare from Los Angeles International Airport to Cancun on Delta on April 15 is $307 per person. Assuming a wedding party of 20, including guests, the airfare alone would total $6,140. All-inclusive accommodation packages, which include everything from lodging, meals, drinks, and activities, average around $200 per night.
For five nights and six days, double occupancy, the price would be around $10,000. For an additional $5,000 to $7,000, you can have a local wedding ceremony. This total of $21,140 is less than half the cost of the average California wedding plus honeymoon ($46,700).
TikTok Weddings
TikTok Weddings is a wedding trend among the digital generation, Generation Z. TikTok Wedding is a way to create your own wedding content by recording the bride and groom’s daily experiences from the wedding preparation process to the wedding day.
Instead of hiring a wedding planner, couples can decide on wedding dresses, hair, makeup, and wedding venues based on video comments, reducing costs and generating additional income by creating wedding content. You can also get wedding-related sponsorships. According to Business Insider, Ashley Klimper, who got married in May last year, uploaded her entire wedding process to TikTok.
She said TikTok helped her with ideas for the wedding itinerary, the music for the bride and groom’s entrance, and her wedding shoes. She posted a video of her wedding on TikTok, which was viewed 56.14 million times, and the media outlet estimated that the revenue for a single video ranged from $12,280 to $22,456.
A Korean-American TikTok user based in San Diego also posted videos of her wedding, from the proposal to wedding planning, wedding videos, wedding tips, and more. “I got a lot of ideas from TikTok when I got married,” she said, “and I want to share my own wedding tips and help people learn.”
DIY weddings
DIY weddings are a wedding trend where brides save money by making their own wedding props, choosing their own wedding music, or buying and altering dresses from affordable fashion retailers like Zara and Shein.
Veronika Lindberg, who got married in June of last year, spent about 200 hours crocheting her own wedding dress. “I only spent $290 on the dress,” she says, explaining, “it took a long time because I had to make it myself, but it was very meaningful and saved me money.”
Similarly, Kiara Brokenbrough, a recently married woman, chose to save money by getting married in a $47 dress she purchased on Shein, explaining, “I didn’t want to spend too much money on my wedding.”
The average price of a wedding dress in 2023 will be in the $2,000 range. And, depending on the type of flowers and bouquet size, you can make your own bouquet for as little as $12 to $35, compared to the average wedding bouquet of $200.
BY HAEUN CHUNG, JUNHAN PARK [chung.haeun@koreadaily.com]
