Costs surge for wedding vendors

Inflationary pressures are swelling the cost to host a wedding, which has couples checking their budgets while vendors navigate rising business costs.

Although there was a slight dip in the average wedding bill amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 – the year in which many large social gatherings were scaled back or canceled – the price tag is trending up, according to wedding planning website The Knot. The average wedding cost nationwide was $19,000 in 2020, which quickly bounced back the following year to $28,000 – equivalent to the 2019 amount. Last year, the average cost increased to $35,000, a nearly 17% jump from 2022.

A survey conducted earlier this year by wedding registry platform Zola noted the average cost for nuptials ranged from $14,444 in Alaska to $49,207 in Rhode Island. The average price in Missouri is $27,731, according to the survey.

Stacie Copeland, owner of Aqua Bella Events & Decor LLC, said she raised prices for services provided by her wedding planning business around the beginning of the year. Copeland said prices for her packages, which range from coordination on the day of the event to full planning months in advance of the ceremony, have risen several times since she launched the Springfield company in 2018. However, the newest increases were largely a response to inflation impacting business-related costs, such as gas and marketing. Her day-of coordination price increased 17% to $1,050.

“The wedding shows have gone up that we advertise in,” she said, adding she averages 25-30 weddings per year. “If you go with Facebook advertising, that’s gone up. If you go and advertise on The Knot, Wedding Wire, that’s up. Rentals go up, everything goes up.”

According to a 2023 report from The Knot, 61% of newlyweds said inflation and the general state of the economy affected their wedding budget and planning. That was 10% higher than the website’s 2022 report. Among this group, couples helped mitigate these challenges by increasing their overall budget, becoming more selective with upgrades and add-ons or trimming their guest list.

Because of the rising prices, many couples are faced with going into debt to fund their weddings, industry officials say. For others, bad credit or financial struggles may prevent the weddings from taking place when first planned, or at least scaled back from the originally more lavish ceremony. Recent research conducted by consumer credit agency BadCredit.org found that financial issues will keep roughly 580,000 couples nationwide from tying the knot this year. It reported over 8,800 of those couples are from Missouri.

Cost conscious
Weddings have been a constant source of income for catering company Dining by Design since its formation 23 years ago. Owner Ryan Tiller said his business has worked dozens of weddings over the two previous years. But last year’s wedding bookings dipped about 30% from the 60 the company worked in 2022, he said, adding that many of the ceremonies he has catered seem to have a lower price point.

“There has been a definite decrease in budget on most weddings,” he said via email. “This makes it much more difficult to provide the experience brides are seeking.”

While he said his company has raised its menu prices by around 18% over the past couple years, the increase was mostly reacting to the rising cost of doing business. Factoring in an increase in food expenses, wages and operational expenditures, such as rent and insurance, he said business costs are up roughly 25%.

“When we have seen an inflated expense that has caused a price increase on food items and then a reduction in that same item, we have fluctuated our prices for this,” he said.

Tiller said he’s been able to keep his staffing levels – currently at 23 employees – consistent amid the increased costs. However, he sees rising wedding prices as the current normal for the industry.

Lisa Lane, co-owner of Ozark event business Venue on Brick, said her company has held the line on prices over the past couple years. She’s also maintained her six-employee staff. Still, the sizes of weddings at Venue on Brick have dipped over the past year or so, Lane said, adding the business averages four to eight weddings per month. That’s down from a prepandemic monthly average of eight to 12 weddings.

“It seems like couples are cutting their guest count, and we’re seeing it a lot,” she said, noting the venue’s average wedding size is around 100-125 people – down from the previous 150-200-person range. “They’re taking into consideration the cost has gone up significantly.”

Venue on Brick’s wedding rental price for its largest space – a 200-person capacity – remains $4,500 for a 12-hour rental and additional amenities. However, Lane said her business also offers hourly rates of $275 per hour with a four-hour minimum – an option that seems to be more attractive for couples just seeking a reception venue.

“We’re still busy, but couples are choosing to have intimate ceremonies – sometimes at home, sometimes it may be someone’s yard – and then have a reception here,” she said, adding there also have been a few instances of the wedding ceremony being delayed. “We have had couples push back the date … so they can kind of recoup financially. This year, we’ve probably had four reschedules. I haven’t had any cancellations.”

Lane said the company also has two smaller venues in Ozark, one with a 50-person capacity for smaller events and an executive area, dubbed The Brick Loft, which targets business and corporate events.

“We used to only offer the large venue for weddings, but now we offer it for hourly events just because there has been a loss of wedding bookings,” she said.

A different lens
Sabra Teel said around 70% of her photography business, Sabra Teel Photography LLC, is connected to weddings and receptions. While she saw a dip in activity amid the pandemic in 2020, her workload quickly snapped back.

“I’m doing 25 weddings this year, and I would say that that’s a pretty typical number,” she said. “I usually fall in the 20-25 range.”

Teel said when she began devoting more time to photography four years ago, she was working side gigs such as bartending. She has since dropped those to focus full time on her business.

“But with focusing fully on a business does come more business expenses. Naturally, there’s subscriptions and you have to upgrade equipment constantly, and social media is its own beast,” she said.

Teel most recently raised prices in November 2023. Her most popular package for couples – a mid-tier option that includes eight hours of coverage – increased 60% to $2,400. However, with the price increase came additional value, as the package now includes a second photographer, instead of just a portion of the day, along with a complimentary engagement session.

“I wanted to be in a price range that said that a normal person who is just trying to have nice photos for their wedding day could achieve it,” she said. “But I also wanted a price range that said that I value my work, and I want you to value my work, too.”

Copeland said it’s a common occurrence for her to visit with potential clients who are surprised at the cost of a wedding and how much all the different vendors charge for their services.

“You have people that don’t know realistically how much a wedding is. You tell them the average cost of a wedding is $30,000, they’re like blown away,” she said. “People have sticker shock a lot with weddings.”

As much as people would like to see that average wedding price tag decrease, Copeland said she’s skeptical that an improved economy will equate to lower vendor costs for couples to get hitched.

“I don’t think they’ll go down,” she said. “I don’t think anybody’s going to be like, ‘Oh, the economy’s better; let’s lower our prices.’”