When Kisha Peart, a self-proclaimed “bargain queen,” got engaged last year, she was determined to plan the New York City wedding of her dreams for under $15,000.
Peart was so determined to pull it off, she began a TikTok series entitled “Bougie Wedding on a Budget.” Thanks to a small gift from family, Peart and her fiance bumped it up to $20,000 – still an ambitious budget in a notoriously pricey city. Peart nixed professional florals, slashed her guest list and collected decor freebies from Facebook groups. And yet, with the wedding less than eight months away, Peart is already over budget.
“We got a good deal on our venue, we’re cutting corners, and then things started to add up,” Peart said.
Like many industries, weddings have been hit hard by inflation, with florists, photographers, and vendors raising prices across the board over the last four years. While industry experts agree that couples everywhere are struggling to stay on budget, an affordable wedding remains possible for those willing to resist online pressures and focus on what they truly value for their day.
“It [cost] is definitely a monumental problem in the industry right now,” said Lynea D’Aprix, a New York-based wedding planner, photographer, and a social media “wedding influencer.”
D’Aprix said most of her wedding planning clients spend around $40,000 on their big day, but many would have preferred to stay under $30,000.
“To be perfectly frank, [staying in budget] is not common,” D’Aprix said. “And it’s always some random expense that you never expected that will come in and get you”
Unexpected costs are hard to avoid, said Sarah Blessinger, a Southern California-based wedding planner who specializes in small weddings. Blessinger said she started seeing more clients going over their budget around 2022. Most of her clients would see an increase in their final budget cost of about $5,000 to $10,000, she said.
“While budgets are increasing, tastes are also increasing,” said Michelle Lew, a wedding planner in the Bay Area. In just the past few years, Lew has seen more couples relying on their parents to make their budgets meet their desired wedding plans.
In addition to inflation is an intensifying “wedding industrial complex,” propped up by online trends and dependent on the idea that an extravagant, perfect wedding is a social necessity.
“Even though we’re dealing with this significant increase in prices with weddings, we’re also dealing with a significant increase in expectations from clients,” D’Aprix said. “People are enjoying the planning experience less and less, because they’re starting to have this disappointment, both with the finances and the expectations.”
Be Prepared, But Don’t Rely on the Internet Alone
Average cost figures touted by mainstays in the wedding industry – including the widely cited annual Real Weddings Study by The Knot, are misleading couples. The average cost of an American wedding in 2023 might be $35,000, but the truth is that a majority of couples are spending less than $20,000.
Blessinger advises anyone planning their wedding not to rely on social media, or even uber-convenient vendor directories like The Knot or Wedding Wire.
Even if you’re not hiring a planner, take the time to talk to real people in the industry, and shop around for vendors.
“Have information that’s real and based on reality, versus a number that was online,” Blessinger said.
Think Small and Nontraditional
To have the wedding that you want without breaking the bank, you need to shrink your plans and be prepared to deviate from ideas of a ‘normal’ wedding.
“I think micro weddings are the way of the future at this point,” D’Aprix said.
In order to keep her wedding in New York City, Peart not only cut the guest list, but chose to get married on a Sunday, rather than a Saturday, to save on her venue cost.
Many venues will offer discounts to couples willing to get married on a day other than Saturday, and couples can save even more if they get married outside of the traditional wedding season. Sugarhouse, a wedding venue in Chester, NY, offers a $5,000 discount to couples that get married between December and March.
No Money? Spend Time
“If you can be smart and utilize that information in the correct way, you can really get crafty and save a lot of money,” said D’Aprix, who spent hours on YouTube learning to make bouquets out of artificial flowers for her own wedding.
Lew said that as a planner, she dedicates around 100-120 hours to the average wedding. Couples she’s spoken to who do everything for themselves might spend somewhere between 150-200 hours.
“If it’s not a commitment of money, it’s a commitment of time,” Lew said. “Time spent, like researching and emailing and doing all that for themselves.”
Big Day, Sensible Spending
A dearth of online wedding content, endless blog posts and flashy social media posts lead couples to believe that they need to spend an arm and a leg to have the nuptials of their dreams, but don’t be led into debt for your big day.
“It’s always going to be that common problem where people will see a photo of a $300,000 wedding and want to be able to do it on a budget,” Lew said.
Although Peart found herself exceeding her original budget, she and her fiance have planned carefully in order to avoid going into debt. Their savings for the wedding are kept in a high yield savings account, and all of the money Peart makes from TikTok content about her planning process goes straight towards the wedding.
“I believe you can throw a great wedding, you just have to know how to pivot or how to get creative,” Peart said. “We’re still adding our little personal touches, and finding ways to save money in any way we can.”