Some revealing statistics about wedding costs

by Greg Johnson · View Comments

While browsing through the unread items in my newsreader, I came across some rather interesting wedding statistics. The figures, from 2006, provide insight into how much the average cost of a wedding is today. Anyway you slice it, a wedding today isn’t cheap, both for those planning the wedding, or the guests attending. Take a look at the numbers:

Nationwide wedding statistics:

Number of marriages in 2006: 2.2 million
Percentage of destination weddings: 15%
Biggest wedding months: June and September
Average age of bride: 27
Average age of groom: 28
Average cost of wedding: $27,882*
Average number of guests invited: 215
Average number of guest attending: 161
Average cost of a wedding gift: $85

* includes engagement ring, but not honeymoon

Sources: The Knot Inc., National Vital Statistics Report, WeddingChannel.com

If you’re interested in holding the line on, or reducing your wedding expenses, I wrote a post a while back about a resource that included some really good money-saving tips and advice from recently-married couples who have been through the planning process.