Wedding Wednesdays: The Knot's 2018 Real Wedding Study Has Arrived!

As a bride-to-be in 2019, it's super important to be able to gauge the going rate for things. The Knot does a fantastic job of surveying married couples from the previous year to find out just what things cost and compile an average national rate. We're so excited to take a look at the 2018 list and hope you are too! It's super helpful for budget conscious brides wanting to make sure they're getting the most for their money. Check it out!

The Knot surveyed over 14,000 couples married in 2018 to uncover the latest trends and overall wedding spend in America, including the new national average cost of a wedding: $33,931 (excluding honeymoon expenses). Remember—this is an average dollar amount calculated by combining the total cost of thousands of real couples’ weddings, then dividing that sum by the number of couples surveyed. Keep in mind too, these couples come from all over the US and have entirely different wedding budgets, locations, head counts and styles. What they end up spending naturally varies—a lot. Throwing a wedding in a densely populated, expensive destination (a big city like New York or Chicago) costs more than it does in a smaller, more rural or less populated locale (Idaho, West Virginia or Wyoming).

So what’s the average amount cost of different wedding vendors? Read the full breakdown here:

Overall wedding spend (excluding honeymoon): $33,931

• Reception Venue: $15,439
• Photographer: $2,679
• Wedding/Event Planner: $2,002
• Reception Band: $4,247
• Reception DJ: $1,292
• Florist/Décor: $2,411
• Videographer: $2,021
• Wedding Dress: $1,631
• Groom Attire: $283
• Wedding Cake: $528
• Ceremony Venue: $2,382
• Ceremony Musicians: $797
• Officiant: $286
• Catering (price per person): $70
• Transportation: $856
• Favors: $245
• Rehearsal Dinner: $1,297
• Engagement Ring: $5,680
• Invitations: $386
• Hairstylist: $123
• Makeup Artist: $102

To find out more, check out The Knot's full article. Feel prepared to devour the details of your wedding planning with this helpful information and budget the best you can thanks to these real wedding costs!