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National

Finish Line

Axios Finish Line

After a pandemic-induced backup and pent-up demand, weddings have come roaring back with bigger budgets, longer guest lists and grander ideas.

The big picture: Almost every aspect of planning, hosting and attending weddings is getting pricier.

By the numbers: The average cost of a wedding in the U.S. ticked up from $28,000 to $29,000 from 2022 to 2023, according to the wedding planning website Zola.

But the average cost was far higher in some states, like Washington, D.C., ($45,400), New Jersey ($44,219) and Massachusetts ($40,097).

What's happening: Inflation and high demand are driving up the price of weddings, as everything from music to flowers to makeup gets more expensive.

77% of wedding vendors surveyed in a recent study said they’d be raising their rates in 2023, CNBC reports.

Estimated change in price of select wedding items, 2019-2022

On top of that, social media has infiltrated the wedding planning process — and more and more couples feel pressure to spend big to make their events pop.

They’re splurging on details like doughnut walls, custom cocktail napkins, and champagne towers to add pizzazz.

"[C]ouples continue to lean into the desire to have a high degree of personalization," says Kirsten Francis, director of global insights at The Knot. Some 63% of couples said that personalization was the most important element of planning, per data from The Knot.

That adds to costs because it calls for extra effort from vendors.

"We're just really inundated with images of wedding possibilities," says Landis Bejar, a therapist who specializes in talking to couples and wedding guests.

"Maybe 15 years ago, if you got engaged you got a couple of bridal magazines. Now, a quick Google search can turn into six hours of wedding research. It’s analysis paralysis."

One in three 2023 couples are looking to TikTok for wedding inspiration, Zola notes.

The stakes: Pricey weddings aren’t just burdening couples.

40% of people who've gone to weddings in the past five years have gone into debt to be there, per a recent LendingTree survey. 

That jumps to 62% if they were also in the bridal party — which comes with additional obligations, like showers and bachelor and bachelorette parties.

After years of isolation, these gatherings still feel really special, Bejar says. “[Guests and bridal party members] feel sad saying no.”

Trend to watch: One wedding cost that's bucking the trend and declining is attire for the groom. That's because grooms are increasingly opting for a more casual outfit than tuxedos, Francis tells Axios.

What's next: The U.S. wedding services business is booming as a result of the rush — growing 10% in 2022 to a $71 billion industry, according to market research firm IBISWorld

That growth is likely to continue if bigger, grander weddings become a fixture of the post-pandemic era.

Go deeper: Listen to the Axios Today podcast, where host Niala Boodhoo and Erica Pandey talk about why small pandemic weddings are being replaced by splashy, pricey affairs.

according to 
 market research firm IBISWorld.

The era of over-the-top weddings

Almost every aspect of planning, hosting and attending weddings is getting pricier.

Illustration of coins falling into a cake as if it were a piggy bank.

Marriage

Economy

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

House Democrats' messaging guidance on the newly released debt ceiling bill instructs them to say the legislation rejects "extreme demands" from Republicans, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: It is a look at how Democrats plan to counter claims by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) that the bill is a total GOP win that contains no concessions for the other side.

Driving the news: Axios obtained a copy of the messaging guidance sent to House Democrats' offices on Monday morning by the Democratic Policy & Communications Committee.

The guidance offers a single-phrase pitch for the bill: "House Democrats are working responsibly to avoid a devastating default on our debt[.] Extreme MAGA Republicans are recklessly threatening a job-killing recession[.]"

It also says the bill rejects "Republicans’ extreme demands to cut critical lifelines for everyday Americans" and "extreme MAGA Republican proposals to cut domestic funding by 22 percent."

Among the other examples of wins the guidance points to: Not touching Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security, veterans' health care and student debt relief.

The backdrop: The guidance largely codifies the case House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has been making about the deal.

"It protects the American people from the types of devastating spending cuts that were proposed by Republicans in their Default on America Act," he said in a CBS "Face the Nation" interview on Sunday.

What we're watching: How conservative House Republicans, who have been agitating against the bill, react to these arguments.

After a senior House Democrat told Axios they believe the "vast majority" of the party will support the bill because it contains "modest" concessions, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) responded: "Notice how oddly calm Democrats are for a change? This is why…"

"Just one big happy uniparty family!!" tweeted Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas). "Yay, debt!!"

The state of play: Democrats will need to persuade enough of their members to vote for the bill to make up for lost votes on the GOP side.

The White House has employed an intense whip operation to sell Democrats on the merits of the bill.

claims by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)

Scoop: Dems told to say debt ceiling bill rejects GOP's "extreme demands"

"House Democrats are working responsibly to avoid a devastating default on our debt[.] Extreme MAGA Republicans are recklessly threatening a job-killing recession[.]"

Staffers prepare for a House Democratic news conference on May 25, 2023. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

House Democrats

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

Change in the price of select summer cookout staples in the U.S.

With inflation still sizzling, most of the fixings for your Memorial Day weekend barbecue will cost more.

The big picture: While the latest Consumer Price Index found food prices were up 7.7% in the 12 months through April, prices for classic barbecue staples like ketchup and mustard have had much larger increases, research firm Datasembly told Axios.

A Memorial Day basket of seven barbecue essentials cost $27.32 in 2023 compared to $25.07 the same time last year, a nearly 9% increase, per Datasembly’s analysis.

More than 75% of consumers said they expect rising prices to impact their holiday spending, according to a survey by Numerator.

By the numbers: A 32-ounce bottle of ketchup had the biggest increase at 27.9%, followed by a 20-ounce bottle of mustard that went up 13% and relish up 12.3%, Datasembly found.

The only item with a slight decline was a pack of 80/20 fresh ground beef burgers that went down in price by 3 cents.

Hot dogs cost almost 3% more, Datasembly found, similar to what the April CPI showed.

Hamburger and hot dog buns were each up about 7.4%, per Datasembly, which is in line with rising flour and bakery product costs.

Ribeye steaks had the largest increase of beef products compared to a year ago, according to data provided to Axios from Circana OmniMarket Integrated Fresh, a Chicago-based market research firm.

The average price for a pound of ribeye steaks was $12.57 in the four weeks through May 14, which is up 11.6% compared to a year ago, per Circana, which tracked retail sales at U.S. supermarkets, big-box retailers, convenience stores and other locations.

Meanwhile, the U.S. average price for a pound of 100% ground beef is $4.79 as of April, according to federal data, which was down from a record high of $4.937 in August 2022.

Prices of ground beef vary by region with the West having the highest average price in April of $5.48 per pound and the Midwest having the lowest at $4.652 a pound, fed data showed.

Yes, but: Inflation has slowed and isn’t impacting many food prices the same way it did last summer. 

In May 2022, hot dog prices were up 16.3% compared to the year before, CPI data showed.

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Memorial Day barbecues cost more with inflation

Inflation is driving up the prices of burgers and hot dogs for your holiday barbecue.

Inflation

Retail

2028

Axios 2028

The White House is kicking its outreach to congressional Democrats into overdrive as it tries to sell lawmakers on President Biden's debt ceiling deal with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Why it matters: Democratic votes likely will be necessary to pass the bill through the narrowly divided House, given the vows from right-wing House Freedom Caucus members to oppose it.

Driving the news: The Biden administration's pitch to fellow Democrats is an intellectual appeal on the merits of the bill, rather than trademark D.C. tactics such as legislative horse-trading or high-pressure tactics.

After the deal was announced late Saturday, the White House sent out briefing materials and talking points to Democratic lawmakers.

The administration followed up with Zoom briefings for House and Senate Democrats on Sunday, in which Biden aides offered details on the deal.

Six issue-specific briefings are planned for Democrats on Monday and Tuesday — two each on key components of the plan: spending levels, changes to permitting rules for energy projects, and new work requirements for welfare recipients.

By the numbers: More than 60 House Democrats have received calls about the deal from administration officials including Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, according to a White House official.

All House Democratic leaders have been called, as have the ranking Democrats on House committees, caucus chairs and leading Appropriations Committee members.

Some Senate Democrats have gotten those calls as well, the official said, but that outreach will begin in earnest on Monday.

Zoom in: House Democrats mostly used their Zoom briefing on Sunday to seek clarification on the details of the bill, according to members on the call and a recording obtained by Axios. 

Several members told Axios they felt more secure about voting for the bill afterward, and believe White House officials made a strong pitch.

The call also gave Democrats a chance to air their frustrations about being cut out of the debt ceiling talks — and largely kept in the dark by the White House, even after the deal was struck.

"I feel that the White House has not provided ... direct communication and consistent outreach," said Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), who was echoed by colleagues in the Zoom chat, according to a screenshot shared with Axios.

Horsford, the Congressional Black Caucus chair, said Republicans got in-depth details “within minutes of the deal being agreed to,” adding, “We’re in a messaging war… and we’re losing.”

White House director of legislative affairs Louisa Terrell, one of Biden's debt ceiling negotiators, responded that “we have pivoted now that we have an arrangement. We are … going to be able to be in a place to be really clear and crisp.”

State of play: Top Democrats are optimistic about being able to make up for enough GOP "no" votes to get the debt ceiling bill through the House — and avoid a catastrophic default by the U.S. government.

“Most are surprised by how modest the concessions appear to be," a senior House Democrat told Axios.

The lawmaker told Axios they expect the "vast majority" of the House’s 213 Democrats to vote for the bill if progressive Democrats don't actively whip against it.

House GOP sources have said as many as 60 of their members could vote against the package because its spending cuts don't go far enough – meaning it could need dozens of Democratic votes to pass.

House aides noted that while Freedom Caucus members have been vocal in blasting the bill, Democrats' misgivings have been relatively muted.

A senior progressive aide told Axios they expect all but a few of the most left-leaning Democrats to hold their noses and vote yes.

Yes, but: Not everyone is sold. One House Democrat with lingering concerns told Axios that Sunday's Zoom meeting with White House aides felt “scripted” and “there wasn’t real back and forth dialogue."

Even so, the lawmaker expects the issue-focused briefings that start today to provide the needed clarity.

“I think people are going to slowly get on board, but ... people still want answers.”

What's next: The House is expected to return to session on Tuesday, with votes on the debt ceiling bill scheduled for Wednesday.

Go deeper: Listen to the Axios Today podcast, where Margaret Talev, filling in for host Niala Boodhoo, and Hans Nichols talk about the concessions President Biden and Speaker McCarthy had to make to reach a debt ceiling deal.

House Freedom Caucus members to oppose it

concessions President Biden and Speaker McCarthy had to make to reach a debt ceiling deal

Inside Biden’s relentless soft-sell on the debt ceiling bill

Several Democrats came out of a White House briefing more secure about voting for the bill.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the bipartisan budget agreement. Photo: Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images.

Axios

Monday's top stories

The era of over-the-top weddings

Scoop: Dems told to say debt ceiling bill rejects GOP's "extreme demands"

Memorial Day barbecues cost more with inflation

Inside Biden’s relentless soft-sell on the debt ceiling bill

Saving the stories of the last Holocaust survivors

America's COVID-free summer mindset

Community college enrollment grows after decade of declines

Insurer cites "growing catastrophe exposure" as it stops new sales in California

Biden and McCarthy tout "historic" debt ceiling deal to divided Congress

Read: Bill to raise debt ceiling limit and avoid default