Triangle couples see wedding costs soar
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Wedding season is here, and so is the sticker shock.
The big picture: The average wedding in metro Raleigh cost around $39,000 last year, while the Durham-Chapel Hill metro came in around $38,000, per industry research firm The Wedding Report.
- Both are well above the national average of $32,899.
- That accounts for a range of expenses, including food, attire, entertainment, venue costs, decor, invitations and more.
Context: A post-pandemic wedding boom and soaring inflation pushed the average wedding cost above $30,000 for the first time in 2023.
- As costs rise, more couples are trading large gatherings for micro weddings, choosing courthouse ceremonies, backyard receptions and elopements to save money. Average U.S. guest counts fell to 127 last year from 184 in 2006.
- The two metros saw an estimated 9,600 weddings last year and an average guest count of 140 or 150 people, per the report.
Between the lines: Weddings and associated events like bachelorette parties are putting guests in the red, too, especially as invitations pile up: 38% of Gen Z and millennials who attended a wedding in the past year said they took on debt to keep up, per a recent Credit Karma survey.
- Bachelor and bachelorette parties in the U.S. averaged $1,500 and $1,300 per person, respectively, in 2023 as more crews opt into multi-day and destination trips, per The Knot.
Roughly 57% of Americans say they'd skip a close friend or family member's wedding if it exceeded their budget. That's up from 54% in 2025, per a new Bank of America Institute survey shared with Axios.
- Nearly half (49%) say the financial expectations of bachelor and bachelorette parties have "gone too far."
- 59% say social media has contributed to higher wedding costs, driving couples to spend more on content creators and picture-perfect weddings.
Yes, but: 43% of respondents who received a destination wedding invitation say it's a great excuse to travel somewhere new, per the Bank of America survey.
The other side: Median wedding costs in the Triangle was closer to $19,000 last year, indicating that "while there are some high-spending weddings, the bulk of the market consists of more budget-conscious couples," per The Wedding Report.
- The U.S. median was $18,231.
The bottom line: Feel free to shrink that guest list — you'll save on food, and the guy from your old kickball league probably isn't dying for another hotel block code.