Gotta love leftovers!
Lunch today came together quickly thanks to reheated leftovers from last night’s dinner. All of the sausage pieces were gone thanks to Ryan, but the remaining wheat berry risotto was still fantastic.
I added a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top because I’m cheesy. 
Since today’s portion wasn’t that large, I also ate a cup of Fage 2 percent Greek yogurt on the side.
If you see a green tint the the yogurt, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. I added a spoonful of pistachio pudding mix to the yogurt for some sweetness and flavor. Yogurt pudding! It’s a great little treat!
Now for some wedding fun!
Wedding Statistics
Since the wedding-related posts that pop up on this blog always seem to be relatively popular (dating duration before engagement + average engagement length), I figured a handful of you guys would likely find the following collection of statistics as interesting as I did when I read them at the gym this morning!
In the February 2012 issue of Ocala Magazine, a large portion of the content is dedicated to weddings trends and wedding planning.
Even though I am already married, I still love reading about weddings. And yes, I even have a “Wedding Ideas… For Other People” board on Pinterest. I’m pretty sure everyone who got married before Pinterest took off wishes that site was around when they were planning their big day!
Well, one page in the latest issue of Ocala Magazine included a plethora of wedding statistics compiled by Caroline Fischer, many of which completely surprised me.
Most Popular:
- Most popular month for weddings: June, followed by August and May
- Most popular engagement month: December
- Most popular wedding location: Istanbul, Turkey, followed by Las Vegas
By the States:
West Texas has the youngest average brides, New York has the oldest. Nebraska and Iowa have the largest weddings, while Hawaii and Nevada have the smallest wedding guest lists.
The most expensive wedding areas in the United States in 2010 were Manhattan ($70,730), Long Island ($51,811) and North/Central New Jersey ($49,374). (Floridians: South Florida was number 10 on the list.)
Averages:
- Average number of weddings per year: 2.3 million (6,200 weddings per day or 44,230 weddings per weekend)
- Average budget: $26,951
- Average number of guests: 178
- Average cost of wedding dress: $1,124
- Average cost of bride’s ring: $6,113
- Average cost of groom’s ring: $468
- Average cost of a wedding cake: $591
- Average age of bride: 25.3
- Average age of groom: 26.9
- Average number of bridesmaids/groomsmen: 5
(Sources: www.weddingstats.org, www.soundvision.com, www.partytime-rentals.com, www.weddingbusinesstoday.com)
Question of the Afternoon
- Did any of these wedding statistics surprise you?
I remember reading a handful of wedding statistics when Ryan and I started planning our big day and felt completely shocked by the average cost of everything. Wowza!
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hold up. how many people do you know who eloped to turkey?
I thiiiink I can count on one hand…
at least 50. maybe 53. 😉
Well…… now I’ve gotta.
Turkey being the most popular wedding location surprised me!!! Got invited to two wedding today, one in 4 week and one in Spain in June! Super excited! Dress shopping time!
The average number of guests seems kind of high! Then again, people who have huge weddings would throw off the average so…maybe that’s it?
Funny, we got engaged in June and married in December, but I’ve always gone against the grain.
Interesting! thanks for sharing! I would of thought that wedding budgets would be way higher. I mean they are expensive, but with how elaborate weddings seem to be these days, that seems low! I am not complaining.
Ugh! Living in north New Jersey, right outside of Manhattan, I know how pricey weddings can be around here! It’s ridiculous! I guess it follows the trend of everything being over priced in this area….orrr the Housewives of NJ are just making that average price rice higher!
Maybe it’s because I’ve never had to buy one (probably because of that) but I was surprised with how much the average bride’s ring costs. I wonder if that’s just the wedding ring, or if that’s the engagement + the wedding band.
Either way, that’s a LOTTA BLING!
These are really interesting facts! I never would have thought Turkey or Istanbul would be among the most popular places to get married.
I’m getting married in one of the most popular months, August but since we are getting married on a Friday, we were able to get a ton of discounts and I had room to finagle with pricing 🙂
I love fun statistics like this, and I am actually glad Pinterest wasn’t around when I was planning! This is only because I spent enough time on wedding related planning, I don’t know if I could have afforded to zone out for another two or three hours per day! 🙂 I would be interested to see the data of how these stats were produced. Maybe the wedding budget/cost of ring and dress/etc. we’re skewed due to a few huge purchases. $26,000 sure sounds like a lot for the average budget! I also thought $6,000 seemed like a lot for the average wedding band! Very interesting! 🙂
yeah I am actually very surprised by the acerage cost one!!! woo that seems like so much!
also the places (turkey/instanbul) surpised me!
This is a fun post! And ok… Geeze!! I can’t believe how much the weddings in the most expensive places cost. I know it is going to be expensive whenever I get married, but it is so hard to justify spending a college tuition on one day.
Turkey/Instanbul was pretty random! The average age range of bride and groom are pretty surprising to me as well. I’m 27. I guess I better get a move on!
Did you know what source the mag used for these stats?
yep! i included links to all of the sources cited at the end of the article in the post. they’re located right above the picture of the bride/groom chairs.
Oops! ::doh::
I’ll have to send this post to my sister who just got engaged 🙂 Most of the statistics don’t surprise me, with the exception of the most popular wedding months. Maybe it’s just because I grew up in Houston where it’s 100 degrees in both June and August, but I don’t think I’ll want to get married when it’s so hot out!
I’m not surprised at this – except for Turkey!?! what?! I think too much money and focus is spent on weddings. Ours cost half of the average you stated, and I thought that was still too high!
Average number of guests– 178?! Omg that blew my mind! My bf and I don’t even know that many people!… Seriously, haha. I mean, maybe with extended friends from college, but not actual people we would invite…
His family is fairly small (3 brothers, a girlfriend or 2 of the brothers, 3 nieces/nephews, mom, dad, one living aunt) and my family is SUPER small (I’m an only child, mom, dad, 2 cousins, maybe 4 aunts/uncles max… one grandma)… and then a handful of close, close friends…
Our guest list is probably going to be like 20-25 people, and that’s if everyone can fly to come (our family and friends are split among many states!)
So yeah… 178 blew my mind 🙂
the # of guests surprised me, too!
The average age of the bride and groom surprised me a little. It seems like most of the weddings I’ve attended lately the bride and groom were early 30s and have never been married before.
Omg those are scary big numbers. I’m years away from getting married but I truly can’t imagine where I’m going to come up with $25,000 to spend on a day. And I want a really nice wedding. I need to start playing the lottery or something.
Turkey? Hmmm… now that is interesting. And, while the costs seem high they don’t actually surprise me. Although, I can’t ever imagine spending that much on a wedding! Crazy!
Wow! Weddings are seriously out of control. What’s sad is when you add up all that money spent on one day and then look at the national divorce rate.
i definitely wish i knew of pinterest as we were planning our wedding! ahh it would’ve been SO nice! i think i would be more surprised by the statistics if i weren’t married yet. my eyes were definitely opened at costs and everything that goes into it when we were planning our’s.
Interesting! I’m a stats nerd.
Also, yogurt pudding? My life = changed.
me too. i love random statistics!
I’d love to see the average stats of Indian weddings. I guarentee the average guest list is 400 people. Mine is at 350, and I’m freaking out!!!
When I moved to DC, I was surprised to feel so isolated for being married. It’s totally normal to get married “young” meaning early 20s. I was 23 and I wasn’t even the first to get married of my friends! In DC, people like to say I’m weird. I don’t care if you get married when you’re 23 or 30, but people can be pretty judgmental about young marriages.
Wow! I loved this! I would have had no idea that Istanbul is the most popular wedding location. Looking at those averages makes me a little scared for the time that my wedding eventually rolls around.. that’s a lot of $! Mine likely won’t be as large as that Manhattan budget, that’s for sure!
Wedding costs are definitely the biggest eye opener I’ve encountered when planning a wedding. My fiance even got worse sticker shock. I knew we were going to spend at bare minimum one grand on a photographer. He thought they only cost a couple hundred bucks!
26k for the average cost of a one-day wedding??? That’s money that could be used towards a down payment on a home, or a new car, or towards an emergency fund. Wow!
I love going to weddings but if my boyfriend and I ever get married, we are happily going to city hall and paying $200 for the certificate.
Statistics can be so interesting! i’m really surprised by quite a few. I knew I wasn’t with the norm with an April engagement and an October wedding (18 months later).
thats a lot of weddings per year! No wonder so much planning is involved with dates, location etc.
I may have already started some inspiration with interest 🙂 I eat green greek yogurt too – key lime oikos!
i LOVE the key lime flavor!
Uhhhh Turkey?! That is crazy hilarious!
My averages were way less, we were really smart with spending, and spent a lot less than usual. But we also got married in a location that did not cost a thing-so I guess that helps 😉
Love this! I am a nerd and love statistics and numbers.
None of these seem too shocking… especially after planning a wedding myself! It’s definitely eye-opening! My #s were right around the average except for my wedding dress which was a splurge! 🙂
Thanks for posting more interesting wedding stuff. I have to tell you that I love your blog! I was directed to it by your awesome “first look” picture behind the door through Pinterest nonetheless. I got engaged December 2011 and we’re planning a September 2013 wedding. Keep up the good work!
congratulations, amanda!!
I was just thinking the other day how I wish Pinterest had been around when I was planning my wedding! It would have made it MUCH easier {or more complicated, considering how MANY ideas are out there}!
The average age surprises me – It 26 and 29 seems so young!
I’m not judging – Just that most of my friends have been in their early 30s when they married.
26,000$$$$$$$$ is AVERAGE? holy sh**
that is insanely high. I get it, I mean it’s a very important day and all.. However, I think I would like to take about $18,000 of that money and put it towards idk. a house? jeebus.
My fiance and I are planning the lamest wedding ever compared haha. (jk but seriously not even HALF of that price)
Charlotte,
I’m so with you there. I’m sure your wedding is going to be beautiful! 🙂 I would absolutely put that money towards a house instead of something that lasts a day. Just me. 🙂
I’m surprised at the average cost of the ring. While, I love beautiful rings, I’m pretty sure the cost is just charged on a credit card and the couple/groom cannot afford to spend over 6k on it. I have always thought a beautiful stone (emerald, sapphire) is much prettier, inexpensive and a different approach if a diamond ring cannot truly be affordable.
I was super interested that Istanbul was one of the top places to get married. My fiance and I are from the same area but we fell in love while working in Istanbul (but our wedding is going to be in his home town) .
I am glad that we don’t live in one of those super expensive areas because it would make it hard to hold our 200 invite wedding.
I love reading stuff like this!! One of my bridesmaids has family in New York and she said their weddings are out of control. They even spend hundreds of dollars on an ENGAGEMENT present!!! I mean come on, a bottle of wine or cute monogram napkins! Our wedding was exactly the average and I did a lot of DIY to cut costs!
I’m not married but I LOVE to hear about weddings and marriage stats. I wasn’t really surprised by much here, except the average age of couples getting married… I’m 25 1/2 (yes, i included the half) and my bf is 26, and I don’t think we are tying the knot anytime soon… although everyone else around us seems to be haha.
I’m originally from the NY area and going to two weddings in Long Island, so I know how absurdly expensive they are.. it’s crazy!!
Oh man…I’m destined to go broke. I grew up on Long Island and now live in New York City. Curse the expenses of weddings!! 😉
WOAH wedding cakes are pricey.. not surprised at the most common months for weddings.. they are always in the summer!
for some reason alot of those statistics didnt surprise me..except maybe the cost of the brides wedding band. everytime kevins family talks about how much was spent on his sisters wedding a few years ago, it makes me a bit nauseous…i’m scared to plan my own wedding. i’m going to cut down costs by having the reception at chuck e cheese…hahaha jk (maybe) 😉
Living, planning and having our wedding in NY, it doesn’t surprise me one bit that we have the highest prices. When I talked about our price per head with my friends from other states like PA and MD when we were all getting married, they were floored.
Kinda wish we had done the destination thing in retrospect!
I feel like my wedding was EXACTLY what those statistics say! Like dead on!!
Turkey as a wedding location is an interesting one! I can never get over the average cost of a wedding. Mine was way less than the average and I felt like I didn’t cheap out on things.
The cost of weddings always makes me choke a little 🙂 We came in at about half that, including the honeymoon.
I think a good thing to remember is that some of the BEST weddings I’ve been to have been the ones with lots of personal, homemade, free or low cost touches. A beautiful day does not actually take $26k. See Pinterest for inspiration!
I’m planning my Long Island wedding as we speak. I really hope it doesn’t end up being one of the most expensive!
Loved this post! Like you, I love thinking about other people’s weddings… only I’m the opposite, I’m 24 and I can barely see myself getting married before 28-30 (I also live in NYC – hello, old brides!)
The most expensive places did not shock me at all… I’m originally from North/Central Jersey and all of the ‘nice’ places that friends/family have gotten married at are between $175-250 a head — good thing i have time to save (or maybe i’ll just elope 😉 )
Love your blog!
Do you think they mean the brides engagement ring, her wedding ring, or both?
Wow. That makes me feel old. And single. 😉
Why did I not think of adding pudding mix to my greek yog??? And pistachio? That sounds incredible!
I love that I’m below average on almost all of the stats…especially wedding cost! My fiance and I are planning a (budget-friendly) wedding for October of this year – and we’re both going to be 23 when we marry, so we’re below the average age too 🙂 I never thought I’d get married this young, but we’ve been together almost 4 years, have “real” jobs, and we just know we’re ready! 🙂 Unfortunately, I’m not below average on wedding dress cost! haha