Average Canadian Bride Spends $20,000 on Her Wedding: 5 Ways to Make Your Wedding More Affordable
Is there an expectation in your family that the next person to get married will have a big, expensive wedding? This may be true in a lot of families because a new survey that has just been released shows that the recession has not affected what Canadian brides plan to spend on their weddings. 1,200 brides surveyed indicate that they plan to spend an average of $20,129 on their weddings. This is a $1,000 increase from last year.
47% of couples plan to use their own savings to pay for their wedding while 32% are relying on mom and dad. What got our attention, however, was the fact that 14% of couples plan to take out loans to finance their wedding. This means that at least one out of every seven people is going into debt to get married. The real number is probably higher than this, but it raises a good question. Is going into debt really the best way to begin married life? Do family and friends really want to see you go into debt just so that you can throw a big party? How long is it going to take you to buy a house if you are saddled with wedding debt in addition to car loans, student loans and possibly credit card debt?
If you would like to get married soon but don’t think you can afford an expensive wedding, there are many easy ways to cut down the cost:
1. Find a less expensive way to do your reception
The average bride surveyed expected to spend almost $7,000 on her reception venue. Some people cut this cost dramatically by doing an American style reception offering guests finger food rather than a full meal.
2. Find a vacation deal for your honeymoon
Brides surveyed expected to spend an average of almost $3,500 on their honeymoon. Since the economy isn’t doing very well, there are tons of great travel deals to be found. A couple could find a vacation deal and substantially reduce their honeymoon budget.
3. Wait longer and save up
The average length of engagement is 17.5 months. Why not wait a little longer rather than going into debt to pay for your wedding?
4. Skip the big ceremony
Get married by a licensed official (justice of the peace, pastor, priest, etc.). This will cost next to nothing.
5. Have a small wedding
Historically speaking, expensive weddings are a new thing. 99% of people who have ever lived probably didn’t have an expensive wedding. Why feel pressure to go along with the 1%?
For all of the survey details check out Weddingbells.ca.
If you would like to learn some strategies on how to save money faster for your wedding, click here, or you can check out our tips on how to save up for big things—like expensive weddings.