Weddings might be recession proof, as the headline that appeared yesterday in my hometown newspaper The Windsor Star reads, but wedding budgets are not. The economy is having an impact how much couples spend on their weddings and the majority of brides are not spending $30,000.
I am bombarded almost daily with information about couples who are scaling back their weddings because of the recession. Many of them have suffered job losses, or job instability. Others have had to scale back plans because their parents RRSPs or 401ks have recently tanked. Even couples who have not been directly impacted by the recession are spending less on their weddings and using their money to put a down payment on a home.
The $30,000 wedding figure that gets reported repeatedly in the media, is not an accurate reflection of what most couples are spending – even when times are good. As I pointed out in an earlier blog post The $28,704 Myth: The ‘Average’ Cost Of A Wedding is Not What You Think It Is, the cost of the average wedding is a figure that does not accurately reflect the masses.
The recession is having an impact on weddings. And I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I think couples are thinking long and hard about how much they want to spend. Many couples are realizing they can create a gorgeous and meaningful event for a lot less than the ‘so-called’ average, if they simply scale back their guest list to the people who really matter to them. As Elizabeth says: “A small wedding gives you the chance to maximize quality over quantity.”
