Multi-tiered cakes, elaborate floral displays and choreographed first dances: The traditional white wedding has been long considered a hallmark of American life.
The obsession with lavish weddings grew to a fever pitch in the years following the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, inflation soared — and the average cost of a wedding broke $30,000 for the first time in 2023, according to The Wedding Report, a research company that tracks wedding data.
Now, after two years of elevated inflation eating into consumers’ wealth, for some engaged couples, splurging on a dessert table or extra sprays of flowers, which are the definition of “nice to haves,” has become a much less justifiable decision. That’s bad news for wedding vendors who provide services like videography, photo booths and catering.
Meanwhile, those vendors are facing a more worrisome existential threat: a looming drop in the overall number of weddings.
In the US, weddings are treated as family reunions and people get pissed if they’re not invited. And their spouse, and their children, and of course you better have an open bar so that no one watches said children.
Which is why I had a courthouse marriage and then never told anybody about it.