Statistics on Weddings in the United States

• 2.3 million couples wed every year in the US. That breaks down to nearly 6,200 weddings a day

• the average age of a bride in the US is 25.3

• average age of a groom is 26.9

• average number of guests invited to a wedding is 178

• one-third of those getting married each year have been married before

The money behind the marriage

• $72 billion per year is spent on weddings

• the average wedding budget is $20,000

• $1,016 is the average cost of wedding rings for the bride and groom

• traditionally, the father of the bride would pay for everything. Today, however, the bride and groom themselves pay for the wedding about 30 percent of the time; the bride's parents pay about 17 percent of the time. As for the rest of the time, costs are covered by different sources -- the bride and groom and one or both sets of parents, according to surveys by Bride's magazine.

• $19 billion per year is spent on wedding gift registries

• $8 billion per year is spent on honeymoons

• the average honeymoon budget is $3,657

• over  91 percent of all to-be-weds register for gifts. The couple receives gifts from an average of 200 guests

• most wedding guests spend between $70 and $100 on a gift

Timing of weddings

• June is the most popular month for weddings, then August, followed by September and October

here's a monthly breakdown:
January 4.7%
February 7.0%
March 6.1%
April 7.4%
May 9.8%
June 10.8%
July 9.7%
August 10.2%
September 9.6%
October 9.4%
November 7.4%
December 7.8%
 

Where do weddings take place?

• 80 percent of weddings are performed in churches or synagogues

Honeymoons

• 99 percent of newlyweds take a honeymoon

• the average couple will spend three times more on their honeymoon than a regular vacation
• 40 percent of honeymooners will travel within the United States, about 60 percent will travel to a foreign country
• honeymoons usually last 7 to 9 days
• the most popular destinations are Las Vegas, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and
Jamaica
• 35 percent of brides and grooms have a valid passport

Other Interesting Info

• the top wedding city in the world is Istanbul, Turkey with 166,000 for the year
• Las Vegas, Nevada is in second place with 114,000 weddings.

Sources for our statistics

US Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2003/cb03ff02.html
The Knot (http://www.theknot.com/au_industrystats.shtml),
The Association for Wedding Professionals International (http://www.afwpi.com/wedstats)
Sellmoreweddings.com
Sellthebride.com (http://www.sellthebride.com/tipsstats.htm)
American Demographics
Bride's Millennium Report: Wedding Love & Money
Bride's magazine