| Nevada | $21,000 |
| Idaho, Montana, Kentucky | $20,000 |
| Utah | $17,000 |
Should you decide to take your wedding someplace more exotic—or, at least, a little farther from home—you could come out ahead. According to Brides, the average international destination wedding cost hovers around $35,000, which can seem like a bargain compared to the average cost of a wedding overall. Destination weddings can be even cheaper to plan if you are inviting fewer guests and bundling the wedding and honeymoon together in the same location. Keep in mind that they will often cost your guests more than traveling to a local wedding, which also could whittle the attendee list.
If you're considering an international destination wedding, be aware of cancellation and refund policies for venues and vendors. Also, be aware of what your credit card's, airline's, and hotel's cancellation and refund policies are in case something like a natural disaster or global pandemic requires you to reschedule your plans.
How to Save for a Wedding
Ideally, the longer you have to save and plan for your wedding, the better. “If possible, couples should ideally start theirweddingbudget talks prior to getting engaged,” says Kirsten Cowles, a Costa Rica-based destination wedding planner. “Doing so can cutdown on disagreements later on if they are on the same page about the size, type, and overall budget of theweddingprior to starting the planning.”
That may be the theory, but Cowles notes that it is more realistic for couples to begin talking about wedding planning costs once they are engaged. If you have recently accepted (or made) a proposal, give yourself a few days to bask in the excitement, then take steps to get your wedding savings plan on track.
Calculate a Wedding Budget
A budget can help you only if it is realistic and workable. According to The Knot, 74% of couples end up going over budget, spending $7,900 more than they originally planned. The report showed that some couples went even further, breaking the bank by an additional $10,000 for their big day.
Cowles says getting your budget right begins with a discussion about what kind of wedding you want. “Couples first need to sit down and think about the overall vision for their wedding,” she says. “Are they envisioning an elegant soiree in a ballroom? Something casual in a family member’s backyard? A destination wedding? In tandem with the vision for the wedding, they need to make a rough guest list based on whom they are interested in having attend because this is going to directly affect the budget.”
Needless to say, inviting 20 or 30 of your closest family members and friends to a backyard wedding will cost much less than a black-tie affair with a guest list in the hundreds. Cowles says that as you make your guest list you should group people into one of three categories: immediate family and best friends, good friends and extended family, and co-workers or casual acquaintances.
From there you can work on getting a per-person figure on which to base your budget. This is where it is important to include a detailed list of every cost you anticipate paying for the wedding. “The cost of all the little things often gets overlooked,” sayswedding coach Hayley Devlin. “Big-ticket items like the ring, the catering, and the dress are easy to plan for because they’re so obvious, but smaller items like decorations, wedding favors, and props can significantly increase the budget.”
Setting Priorities
As you add up costs, you and your spouse-to-be may need to do some prioritizing. Make a list of expenses that includes everything you want to spend money on, even if it seems frivolous. Then go back through the list and separate the must-haves from the things you could eliminate without it putting a damper on the big day.
If you are having trouble striking the right balance over your budget, consider whether you can free up money by going DIY with some of the costs. You might be able to save money, for example, by making wedding favors or centerpieces instead of buying them. Or you could save money on the rehearsal dinner by hosting a backyard barbecue or potluck rather than taking guests out to an expensive restaurant.
Keep in mind that nine out of 10 respondents in the Brides and Investopedia 2021 wedding survey saidthey've put off at least one major financial priority, like saving for a home, starting a family, or saving for retirement,to pay for their wedding.
Making things yourself could save you money, but consider how much you might spend on materials— as well as the time investment required—to decide if it makes sense.
Break Down the Budget Into Target Savings Goals
Once you have arrived at an overall budget number, the next step is figuring out how much you need to save monthly or weekly to reach your target. “A good formula to determine the budget is as follows: Number of months until wedding x realistic savings each month + contributions and existing savings = total wedding budget,” Devlin says.
As you look at the overall budget number, consider how long you have to save for the wedding and think about whether you may get any financial help from friends or family members in planning it. If you have an overall budget of $30,000 and 10 months until you plan to get married, for example, you’d need to save $3,000 a month to hit your goal, assuming you have not put aside anything for your wedding yet. However, if your parents are chipping in $10,000 as a pre-wedding gift, that drops the amount you need to $2,000 a month.
When running the numbers on monthly or weekly savings contributions, ask yourself if it’s realistic. If you cannot hit that savings number together continuously, then you have two options: Downsize the wedding to reduce the costs (and the amount you need to save) or consider delaying the wedding to give yourselves a longer window to stash away savings. The second option may not be ideal, but it could be the better choice if you don’t want to take anything away from your overall wedding vision.
Keep Your Wedding Savings in the Right Place
Before you start making regular contributions to a wedding account, decide where you’ll keep it. There are three basic options: a separate checking account, a savings account, or a money market account.
Devlin recommends a joint checking account for accessibility. You can both contribute money to the account and spend from it using your debit cards or writing checks. However, unless you are using aninterest-paying checking account, you will not earn anything on the money you’re adding.
Ahigh-yield savings account or a money market account could offer interest earnings, but they come with limited accessibility. You can only make six withdrawals from one of these accounts each month without triggering a penalty. What's more, unless the wedding is years away, the interest you will earn on the account is likely to be minor. Depending on how frequently you plan to pay wedding expenses, you might consider using a high-yield savings account and a joint checking account together to cover expenses.
The one option to skip for wedding savings is a certificate of deposit (CD) account. CDs are time deposits, meaning you cannot withdraw your savings until the CD matures without triggering a penalty.
Regardless of whether you choose checking, savings, or both, pay attention to the monthly maintenance fees, minimum balance requirements, and the interest rate you could earn to make sure the accounts you choose aren't costing you money.
Comparison Shop
More than 80% of couples set their rough budget for wedding costs without doing any research beforehand on specific wedding expenses. You can avoid potentially coming in too high by taking the time to get several quotes for each cost on the list before choosing a vendor.
And when getting quotes from vendors, do not just take their word for it, says Kyle Winkfield, president of Finley Alexander Wealth Management. “Always get every quote in writing,” Winkfield says. “Also, make sure the vendor puts a deadline of when you can accept the quote by. The price for today does not mean it will be the same in six months, a year, or two years—unless there is a contract and deposit in place.”
Locking in costs with a deposit and signed contract means the vendor cannot raise the price without warning unless specific wording in the contract allows for that. Make sure you read the fine print before you sign and consider giving yourself a savings buffer to cover potential shortfalls. “I always encourage a couple getting married to add 20% to their budget for incidentals they did not factor in,” Winkfield says.
Get the Timing Right and Look for Wedding Deals
The time of year that you set for your wedding can also affect your budget and should be taken into consideration, says Winkfield. In general, wedding season extends from late spring and continues through early fall (June and September are peak months), so holding off until mid-winter might be less expensive, as vendors may drop their prices due to reduced demand.
With destination weddings, consider planning your trip for the off-season or shoulder season, when travel fares for flights and hotels typically fall. Once you have nailed down the timing, try to plan your wedding spending around seasonal sales as much as possible.
You may find deals on wedding rings in March or late summer, for example, while January is considered one of the best months to buy a wedding dress on sale. Just remember: If you are buying any wedding-related items on sale, make sure you are familiar with the store's return policy. Saving 20%, 30%, or more is great, but if you need to replace that item with something else, you may be out of luck if the retailer doesn’t allow refunds on sale items. (Get that in writing, too.)
What Is the Most Expensive State in Which to Marry?
New Jersey is the most expensive state to get married in, according to a study by The Knot. It cost an average of $55,000 to tie the knot in the Garden State in 2023. Compare that to $35,000, which was the average cost of a wedding in the United States that year.
What Is a Prenup?
The term prenup is short for prenuptial agreement. This is a contract between two people before they get married that outlines each party's financial responsibilities and property rights after they tie the knot. The contract also details how things are divided between the couple if they get divorced or one person dies.
How Much Does a Destination Wedding Cost?
Destination weddings are weddings that take place outside your personal location. They can be either domestic or international. For instance, a Canadian couple living in Calgary, Alberta, may have a destination wedding in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. An American couple living in Lexington, Kentucky, can also have a destination wedding in Las Vegas. The average cost of a destination wedding in 2023 was $42,000 and $43,300 for international and domestic locations.
The Bottom Line
While getting hitched is a momentous occasion worth celebrating, it is the marriage that will last, not the wedding day. Starting your new life together on a firm financial footing is more important than whether you had a certain number of guests or a specific type of flowers. Planning your budget carefully and working together to save for your wedding so you don’t end up in debt can help contribute to a happily-ever-after event.
