The Wedding Report

2012 Average Wedding Cost in the US Increases Less Than One Percent to $25,656

Shane McMurray — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 03:59:23 +0000

The average cost of a wedding in the US increased by less than one percent to $25,656 from $25,631 (2011). This is based on an average number of guests of 136, down from 138 (2011).

2011

2012

Times Married Wedding Infographic

Shane McMurray — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:25:20 +0000

Times Married Wedding Infographic - Percent of men and women getting married once, twice, and three plus times. The part showing "Active Planning" is the percent of couples in the times married buckets that are actively involved in planning their wedding.

Yes "Once" is over 100%... the average engagement time is 15 months, those engaged longer than 12 months are the overlap.

This really shows that first time weddings are the most active in the planning process. The more times married, the less likely they are involved in planning. That said, all couples are different though.

Wedding Infographic – Income Breakdown of US Weddings

Shane McMurray — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 15:30:20 +0000

Wedding Infographic – income breakdown of US weddings. Couples with a household income between $25,000 and $100,000 are more likely to marry than the general population within the same household income.

Wedding Infographic – Education Breakdown of US Weddings

Shane McMurray — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 02:58:47 +0000

Wedding Infographic – education breakdown of US weddings. Couples marring today are more educated than the general population. This speaks to why both men and women are waiting longer to marry, "getting an education first."

Wedding Infographic – Age Breakdown of US Weddings

Shane McMurray — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 21:48:12 +0000

Wedding Infographic – age breakdown of US weddings. The median age of those getting married in the US continues to rise going from 23 (men) and 21 (women) in 1970 to 28 (men) and 27 (women) in 2009.

Average Wedding Cost Falls One Tenth of a Percent in Q1-Q2 2012

Shane McMurray — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 04:50:05 +0000

The average cost of a wedding fell by one tenth of a percent (0.1%) to $25,615 from $25,631 (2011).

Category	Item	2011	2012Q1-Q2	% chg.

On Average Couples Travel 55 Miles from Home to Get Married

Shane McMurray — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 03:27:47 +0000

On average couples travel 55 miles from home to get married. A majority travel within 25 miles of home while only 10% travel more than 200 miles.

Here is a breakdown of 2011 weddings by distance traveled.

	% of	Weddings
Within 25 miles of home	62%

78% of Couples Use Internet Search to Find Products & Services for Their Wedding

Shane McMurray — Sat, 19 May 2012 05:03:50 +0000

That's right, 78% or 1.63 million couples use Internet Search to locate products and services for their wedding. Wedding or bridal websites are the second most used source at 76% followed by wedding or bridal magazines (61%) and friend or family recommendation (61%). The least used, radio and newspaper. Bottom line, old methods of marketing will not get you to today's couple. In my opinion, spending advertising dollars on radio, newspaper, postal mail, phone book (yellow pages), or television is wasted money. Spend your advertising dollars of the top four (4) or five (5) resources that couples use. The following table and chart show the sources couples use to find products and services for their wedding.

Could Two (2) Words Help You Get More Business?

Shane McMurray — Mon, 07 May 2012 04:15:40 +0000

When asked "what words best describe your wedding" the majority of couple say Romantic, Simple and Traditional. While these are the top 3 choices of couples we surveyed in 2011, over 70% of the market focuses on two words, Romantic and Simple. With a TURF Analysis, we were able to determine that by focusing on these 2 words you can connect with over 70% of the market. Simplify put, start using the words Romantic and Simple in your marketing message and you'll make a better connection with potential customers. Here are the words that describe the type of weddings couples are having.

Beach

Top Wedding Locations in the United States for 2011

Shane McMurray — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:41:09 +0000

Many times I'm asked what the top wedding locations or top wedding sites in the United States are and it really depends on how you measure top. Here is a list of the top 10 wedding locations (metropolitan areas) for 2011 by market value.

Rank

Metropolitan Area

Weddings

Average Wedding Cost

Couples Contribute Most to Total Wedding Cost

Shane McMurray — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 23:06:34 +0000

With the 2011 average wedding cost at $25,631 it's no wonder everyone is contributing. Even though many expenses are shared by parents, relatives, and friends, it's the couple contributing most often. This explains some of the changes we are seeing in the wedding industry. Changes like, less overall spending, less guests, more unique options, less tradition and formality. Today's wedding couple is about romantic, simple and fun more than tradition and formality. Either way, it's still expensive and everyone seems to be pitching in. Who contributes to wedding cost 2010 & 2011.

2010

Online Spending for the Wedding Industry Reached $8.6 Billion in 2011

Shane McMurray — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 23:27:32 +0000

Online spending for the wedding industry reached $8.6 billion (16.1% of $53.3 billion total spending) in 2011. Even though industry spending was down 4.1% in 2011, wedding online spending was up 43% over 2010 and wedding mobile spending was up 44% over 2010. Technology is making it easier for couples to pay online as growth was seen in both product and service categories.

Full report details available here: The Online Wedding Market 2011 Report

Products and services that saw the biggest online purchases were; Reception Decorations, Planner For Getting Started, Tuxedo/suit/other Rent/purchase, Reception Rentals, and Reception Food Service. Products and services that saw the biggest mobile purchases were; Flower Petals, Planner Full Service, Reception Menus, Other Transportation, and Planner Day of Coordinator. Online planning use decreased to 78% from

The Average Number of Guests for a 2011 Wedding was 138

Shane McMurray — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 23:44:52 +0000

The average number of guests attending a 2011 wedding was 138. A single guest adds about $186 to the overall cost of a wedding. This is a 2% decrease from the 2010 average of 141. The table and chart below shows the average number of guests from 2006 to 2011.

Year	Guests	Chg %
2006

State of the Wedding Industry Q3-Q4 2011 Results

Shane McMurray — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:12:40 +0000

Current results from the Q3-Q4 2011 State of the Industry Study are now available. 2011 Wedding Cost Update: 2011 Wedding Cost Update 3.4% decrease from 2010 Spending Wedding Index Update: The Wedding Index Update Q3-4 2011 Wedding Business Reported Trends: State of the Wedding Industry Business Reported Trends Q3Q4-2011 We are working on updates for number of wedding businesses, how many weddings they service, how much they spend on advertising, and other business related items. Wedding numbers, including cost data will be updated for all areas by the end of February Continue reading

State of the Wedding Industry Business Reported Trends Q3Q4-2011

Jen Michalski, PhD — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:56:37 +0000

With over 450 responses provided by various vendors in the wedding industry, what you are seeing as current trends in the wedding industry as a whole in Q3Q4 – 2011 is very similar to what was seen in Q1Q2 - 2011. There are again an overwhelming number professional wedding photographers seeing couples opting for less experienced, less well known, and often times new to the scene photographers, instead of higher priced, more experienced, professional photographers. More and more new photographers are popping up on the scene offering much lower prices than the more experienced photographers and in a climate where couples are on tight budgets, these lower prices are more appealing to them. "Couples are choosing aggressive pricing over quality and experience", one vendor says. For similar reasons, more couples Continue reading

The Wedding Index Update Q3-4 2011

Shane McMurray — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:07:55 +0000

The wedding Index update for Q3-4 2011. Overall, a significant improvement over previous years. Despite lower spending and lots of DIY in 2011, vendors saw an increase in average spending and number of couples getting married. One interesting point on six month sales expectations as both excellent and poor saw an increase over previous years.

Q1-2 2010

Q3-4 2010

Q1-2 2011

2011 Wedding Cost Update 3.4% decrease from 2010 Spending

Shane McMurray — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:52:04 +0000

The total average wedding spending for 2011 was $25,631, a 3.4% decrease from the 2010 total of $26,542. When adjusted for inflation, the average wedding cost decreased by almost 6%. Gift/s for Attendants, Wedding Bands, Rehearsal Dinner, Engagement Announcements, and Gift/s for Parents saw the biggest decrease in spending. Planner Full Service, Photo Engagement Session, Ceremony Location, Reception Rentals, and Reception Location saw the biggest increase in spending. The final US wedding cost numbers for 2011 are in the table below. We will be updating the site within the next month to reflect changes in all areas of the country.

Category

One (1) in Six (6) Couples Meet Online

Jen Michalski, PhD — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:58:45 +0000

In a recent survey, we asked couples (N=1407) if they met online or not; if they did meet online, where did they meet; and if they did not meet online, how did they meet. In our first question, "Did you meet your spouse-to-be online?" 16% (1 in 6) said yes they did, while 84% said no, they did not meet their spouse-to-be online. Of those who did meet online, 1 in 10, the highest percentage (65%), met on an online dating site (searching a person's profile). The next highest percentage, 1 in 50 or 14%, met on a social networking site (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc.).5%, or 1 in 125, of those who indicated they met online met in an online chat room. 3%, or Continue reading

Missed Opportunities for Business Growth

Shane McMurray — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 23:20:25 +0000

I read a post today on the Facebook group "EPIC Wedding & Event Pro Network" by Shanika FleurGirl Tyler, that asked "What is something you think the wedding industry lacks?" The first response was Integrity.

I do agree that the industry lacks some integrity, but this is true of any industry and in reality, the majority are honest and trustworthy.

However, I think the biggest area of "lack" is a sense of reality and I think many opportunities are missed because of it.

The media and big players push that couples are willing to spend massive amounts of money on their wedding, and while some do, it's only a small part of the REAL market. Almost every wedding magazine pushes products that are out of reach for the average couple and

Wedding Cost Standardization – The Industry Has Spoken

Shane McMurray — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 03:00:00 +0000

Last week we ask you to provide input on what should be included in the "Average Wedding Cost" and spoke clearly. You can view the results here of the survey here: http://t.co/xuJ4rab The total sample of 267 yields a 6% margin of error and while the determining factor of inclusion is majority rules, 50%+, because of the margin of error we included items that were at 47%+. There were only a couple of items on the threshold but felt they were close enough to include. Refactoring the first half of the year to these standards, equates to an average wedding cost of $21,227. The items below make up the "new standard" of what is included in the "Average Wedding Cost" and we will be refactoring our Continue reading