Whether you like math or not, statistics can be very telling and after all, numbers (usually) never lie. Today we decided to take a look at some of the 2016 wedding statistics found during the "2016 Real Wedding Survey" conducted by our friends at The Knot.
Top 2016 wedding statistics
• Average wedding cost: $35,329 excluding honeymoon, up from $32,641 in 2015
• Most expensive place to get married: Manhattan, $78,464 average
• Least expensive place to get married: Arkansas, $19,522 average
• Average spent on a wedding dress: $1,564
• Average marrying age: bride, 29; groom, 31
• Average number of guests: 141
• Average number of bridesmaids: 5
• Average number of groomsmen: 5
• Most popular month to get engaged: December (15 percent)
• Average length of engagement: 15 months
• Most popular wedding colors: dark blue (29 percent), gold (28 percent) and light pink (28 percent)
• Percentage of destination weddings: 20
Couples are falling for each other
Fall weddings are on the rise. Though Spring is still a wildly popular wedding season, Fall is the new king. 40% of weddings took place in Fall, as opposed to 30% in 2009. September and October reign as the most popular months followed by June. Unsurprisingly, Saturday is still the number one day to say "I Do."
Top 10 most expensive places to get married
1. New York – Manhattan: $78,464
2. New York – Long Island: $67,831
3. New Jersey – north/central: $62,606
4. Illinois – Chicago: $60,035
5. New York – outer boroughs: $59,027
6. Massachusetts – Cape Cod: $58,608
7. New York – Westchester/Hudson Valley: $54,428
8. Rhode Island: $52,328
9. Florida – southern: $48,596
10. Pennsylvania – Philadelphia/Delaware: $48,093
Top 10 most affordable places to get married
1. Arkansas – $19,522
2. Utah – $20,337
3. Montana – $20,794
4. Texas – west Texas: $21,688
5. Oregon – $21,854
6. Idaho – $22,018
7. Arizona-Tucson – $22,175
8. Iowa – $23,098
9. Nevada – $23,239
10. Oklahoma – $23,302
Average budget breakdown
Overall wedding (excluding honeymoon) – $35,329, up from $32,641
Venue (reception hall) – $16,107, up from $14,788
Photographer – $2,783, up from $2,618
Wedding/event planner – $2,037, up from $1,996
Reception band – $4,156, up from $3,833
Reception DJ – $1,245, up from $1,171
Florist/décor – $2,534, up from $2,300
Videographer – $1,995, up from $1,824
Wedding dress – $1,564, up from $1,469
Groom's attire and accessories – $280, up from $269
Wedding cake – $582, up from $575
Ceremony site – $2,197, up from $2,089
Ceremony musicians – $755, up from $703
Invitations – $462, up from $445
Transportation – $859, up from $792
Favors – $268, up from $267
Rehearsal dinner – $1,378, up from $1,296
Engagement ring – $6,163, up from $5,871
Catering (price per person) – $71, up from $68
Officiant – $278, up from $273
Once again, we'd like to make it clear that this research was conducted by our friends at The Knot. We're just happy to be able to pass some of these fascinating facts on to our beloved readers.
