Around the world, weddings are expensive affairs — but new data suggests the U.S. really takes the cake.
British royal weddings notwithstanding, American couples are paying an average of almost $30,000 on their wedding, according to a new report by The Knot Worldwide. Spain and Italy took the second and third spots, respectively, in The Knot’s survey.
“The price tag is high, but how you manage that money is the most important,” Tim Chi, CEO of The Knot Worldwide, told Yahoo Finance in a recent interview.
“Today people want to get married and really infuse their personality and style, put their personal stamp on it,” he added.
Currently, The Knot Worldwide is the largest global wedding resource, after a corporate marriage in March brought together The Knot and WeddingWire.
The site services the $250 billion wedding industry in 14 countries worldwide, providing budgeting tools, personalized wedding websites, planning tools, and registry services.
A simple checklist
Countries may differ in pricing when it comes to weddings. However, what couples want in a ceremony is fairly straightforward, according to Chi.
“In many ways weddings, at the end of the day, as we see the data, they’re so similar, in terms of the pain-points we’re trying to solve,” he said.
“You need a place, you need entertainment, you need food, you need a way to talk to your guests,” Chi added. “On the other hand, when you see the output of the weddings, culturally, could not be more different.”
What all couples look for when planning a wedding, is how to save money. With the hefty price tag that often comes with getting hitched, Chi suggested paring down the guest list.
“One way to save money, and we see this, is just to cut down on the wedding guest count, and spend more money per guest,” he explained.
The most popular times to get married are September, October, and May—which in turn tend to be the most expensive. So getting married in the winter tends to be a cost-saver as well.
But beware if you’re looking to get married in Manhattan. In the Big Apple, “you’re going to find [a wedding costs] closer to $90,000 or $100,000,” Chi warned.