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Have you ever been to CostofWedding.com? It’s worth a look. You just put in your zip code, and it calculates how much your wedding “should” cost based on you area. Also nice—it breaks down the budget into what should cost what if you choose to look at each item. All costs are on the left hand side if you click on the different items.
The website sets itself up like this:
On average, US couples spend $20,398 for their wedding. However, the majority of couples spend between $15,299 and $25,498 while their wedding budget is typically 50% less than the amount spent. This does not include cost for a honeymoon or engagement ring. Understanding average wedding cost now can help you with your wedding budget later.
I agree with the last line, for serious. 
It also has another line, similar to a disclaimer, that actually seems a little helpful:
The numbers provided on this site are simply a guide to help you better prepare for the cost of a wedding and is based on spending by other couples, not vendor prices. Spending and prices vary widely. You should expect to pay 25% to 50% more for a well-experienced professional. Investigate all options and choose products and services that best meet your needs.
Anyway. On with the numbers! (You’re curious—I can tell.)
On average, couples that live in Miss Giraffe’s town spend between $25,090 and $41,816 for their wedding. This does not include cost for a honeymoon or engagement ring.
Or…
On average, couples that live in Mr. Giraffe’s town spend between $22,489 and $37,481 for their wedding. This does not include cost for a honeymoon or engagement ring.
I find this especially curious because Mr. Giraffe’s town is full of wealthy people with taxes way higher than my town. It’s also closer to Chicago, which increases prices of things regardless. Either way, $41 grand for a wedding? Yeah, I don’t think so. Take that, wedding industry! Haha! My wedding, even with my ring and honeymoon, will be nowhere near that price. For serious.
To go further, on the same site you can do a “wedding-budget estimator.” You still put in you zip, but you also choose you number of guests, and then you have a whole bunch of check boxes (broken down by category, of course) of things you need to get for you wedding. My numbers for that? A little shocking, actually.
Based on the zip code you entered for Miss Giraffe’s town , the number of guests (150–200), and the items selected, the estimated wedding cost is between $31,623 and $52,706.
I know, right? That’s an awful lot of money. Way more than we’re spending. Word.
Has any one else calculated their wedding cost? Anybody else pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised?
Happy to see what we’re spending less than average in every category!
I am so happy to see that I am spending about 10k less than the cheapest of the two amounts– for our weeklong wedding (on a cruise ship) AND our honeymoon. SCORE!
Hmmm, I’m actually kind of pleased by that calculator. The average for my location is insane (between $20K and $38K) but when I plugged in the things we plan to have, it was coming in under $10K. Woo! That’s what we’ve budgeted.
Yeah, this calculator is crazy in California! Including our honeymoon, we still spent less than the average!
Your wedding should cost as much as your budget can allow.
While it’s one of the best days of your life, you should not spend the rest of your life paying for it.
My estimates (both of them) turned out to be pretty accurate, actually. The difference is that my budget covers a lot more than they list because it’s a destination wedding, and we’re paying for some hotel rooms and other DW expenses (like gift bags, for example), so I think I’m doing okay. Thanks for sharing!
Wow.. totally interesting. On some things we’re right on target, on others, far below. I’ll have to show this to my FI so he feels better about our budget- it’s actually on the low end of average.
I found it interesting how the amounts changed (+20k) when I input my work or our venue zip code instead of home. (The calculator is on target for our area.)
Money, money, money, mon-ey! This is a great tool for trying to determine a REALISTIC budget; which is exactly what I’m trying to do.
Yikes, I got between $19,572 and $32,620.. I’m not even spending anything CLOSE to that lower number! Iiiiiiiiinteresting.
I’m spending about $10,000 total here in SC. But it’s a pretty cheap state. For instance, our venue at an upscale Inn (indoor and outdoor with discounted group rates) was $400. I’ve hard of people spending tens of thousands. EEEEK! Moral of the story, I think it really depends on the state and how much DIY ect. Don’t let the numbers freak you out or make you think you can’t have a very classy and enjoyable well done wedding.
I got between $24-$39K, which doesn’t surprise me! I found this out early on and yes, was devestated. Love this post though, it’s definitely a good resource. For me, something like this would have been useful to send to my dad and Mr. B’s parents, who had no clue the average cost for weddings today! Well, maybe it was a good thing we didn;t! Haha!
We actually spent more than that calculator, but when I talked to planners in the area they scoffed at my budget and said it wasnt do-able and unrealistic for the area. So we planned it on our own and made it work.
Well, as long as I’m being honest with myself and the calculator it is showing my goal budget. Now I just have to remember to not go overboard
Wow! Mine was a lot higher than what we actually paid. Thank goodness for DIYs because we came in under what we were actually going to spend. Thanks for giving me a happy. I needed it this morning.
I checked out that site a while ago and was shocked, but not really, at the average cost for my area, which is similar to your hometown. It seems like so much money to me, especially since our wedding will be self-funded. We’re hoping to stay in the 13k range!!
I used the same calculator and I too will NOT be spending even close to the amount it suggests. I wish I had that amount to spend, in a dream world!!
Cool link! I wish it had the option to input your wedding budget, so it could get an even more accurate average.
On average, couples that live in or travel to Princeton township: Mercer County, NJ spend between $31,163 and $51,938 total for Average Cost
::chuckle:: these people are funny. So am I actually. I originally said I could do a wedding on $5K, we’ve since doubled it and will probably go slightly over. Still, that’s a heck of a lot less than 30K to 50K.
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Mrs. Giraffe, Chicago Age and Occupation: 23, Graphic Designer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Music Student Teacher Engagement Date: October 23, 2008 Wedding Date: May 2011 Venue: Trinity Lutheran Church & Idlewild Country Club About Me: Coming from the suburbs of the Windy City, you'll often find me with my foot in my mouth while laughing for no reason or telling bad knock knock jokes. I've been crafty for as long as I can remember, and will DIY something twice over before I have someone do it for me. I'm a semi-awkward, typeface obsessed, design junkie and have been know to break out my dance moves for no reason as well as try my best to be ridiculous at all times. My love of pop culture, wordplay, and graph paper almost rivals my love of Mr. Giraffe (who is just the bee's knees). After a 2.5 year engagement, we're planning a modern-in-disguise traditional wedding, and cannot wait!
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