The $28,000 Budget: Myth?

30 Aug 2007

by Khris

In my latest internet travels for info about budgeting, I came across this very interesting article posted in the August 24 issue of The Wall Street Journals Online’s The Number Guy column.

We’ve all heard the $27,000+ price tag stat on “average” US weddings, right? Well, Carl Bialik is taking a closer look at that number and how it was determined. Turns out, “average” really isn’t average. The figures from these surveys are derived by adding up the budgets reported (by a limited pool of brides) and then dividing them up by the number of respondents. So, in Bialik’s example, a single $1,000,000 wedding would totally skew the results to make the “average” look higher.

According to the article, $15,000 is closer to the real average, or median, wedding budget.

For the three surveys, the median wedding cost is closer to $15,000. The median is the middle figure when you line up a set of numbers in order of size. It is a popular choice for social statistics because it is unperturbed by very small or very large numbers.

How does that make you feel about your budget now?

13 Comments

Jen August 30, 2007 at 1:40 pm Reply

I had the same thought when I saw the 27K figure. It would only take a few very expensive weddings to throw that off. It also probably doesn't take in account simple weddings held in church were family does all the preperations.
tto August 31, 2007 at 12:39 am Reply

makes me hopeful, that's for sure! a lot of people think it's impossible...especially in nyc, la, sf. so i'm on a mission to dispel the big-city-budget myth! :)
Shanika J Butts August 31, 2007 at 4:49 am Reply

Great post Khris! You're exactly right!
Laura August 31, 2007 at 11:05 am Reply

This makes me wonder why in heck I can't seem to make a $25,000 budget cover everything!!
crowiecat August 31, 2007 at 12:25 pm Reply

I wish that were true in the SF bay area. My fiancee and I are trying pretty hard to stay within our $15,000 budget (in the silicon valley) for about 80 people here and it has been very challenging. We are footing the entire bill ourselves, including possibly flying some family out since they can't afford it. Just the venue and the food (it's outdoor with a buffet brunch) is already stretching our limit. I think though if you are willing to think outside the box, be more creative, and not buy into all the "wedding hype", $15,000 or somewhere close to that is an achievable budget.
Tammi August 31, 2007 at 1:33 pm Reply

I'm happy to hear this. Now I don't feel like a cheapskate. Caterers and wedding planners have scoffed when I told them I want to keep my upcoming Brooklyn, NY wedding to 15K. I know this can be done. I am so glad to hear that the $27,000 wedding is more hype than happening.
Little Miss Planner September 5, 2007 at 6:53 pm Reply

I wish that was the case in my area. I'm not having an outlandish wedding by any means... but my reception site and the catering is over 17k by itself. When I first saw the prices I freaked out... but every place was the same. At that moment of realiziation, our budget went from 20 to 35k.
Quynh September 10, 2007 at 6:49 pm Reply

I feel a lot better! I live in the DC area and we are trying to do a 150 guest wedding for no more than 15K. It's a little bit of a challenge so far but I think we actually might make it! We might even be able to pull it off for a little less than that. :)
kelleyatbrideorama September 13, 2007 at 4:30 pm Reply

This is good news, but not surprising. I think a lot about budget depends on where you live; and of course,how expensive or simple your tastes are. Here is the good news though: I got married last year, had a beautiful wedding in NY with 100 guests, and we managed to stay just under around $17,000. So it can be done. You just have to use sites like this to help you out!
Morgan September 29, 2007 at 11:38 am Reply

I remember from my high school statistics class that some type of average was calculated by eliminating the top 5% and bottom 5%, or 10%, so the average was more representative of real people. I think they should do that so the $30 drive-through weddings and the $1,000,000 celeb weddings aren't in the picture. Then we would have a more realistic view of wedding costs.
Allison June 1, 2008 at 7:25 pm Reply

$15k is more reasonable than $28k, but still a whole lot of money to spend on a party in my mind. Our budget for a 200-person wedding in a Midwestern city is $7,500, and I think we'll be under that.
nikki March 9, 2009 at 7:13 pm Reply

i guess i don't understand even the 15,000 weddings, at least if you say you are trying to be thrifty. sure, we're in the midwest, but we'll be having around 300 people and are right at about 5,000. the church rental is free since we're members, we're doing a cake reception at the same location. no dance. no alcohol (it's in a church remember? haha) the cake is 2.50 per person. why would you want to start off a marriage with that much less money?? maybe save some and buy a new car or something! :)
amm March 10, 2009 at 3:08 pm Reply

I live in the midwest, so maybe it's different. We're having a huge barbecue/casual outdoor wedding with an open beer/wine bar, and it's still clocking in at under 7K for 450 guests and 12 members in the wedding party. If you REALLY want to have an inexpensive wedding, it can be done. You just don't get to have everything you want. I focused on my guests instead of on myself, and I really think we are going to have a beautiful wedding that is fun for everyone and doesn't put us in debt the rest of our lives.

The $28,000 Budget: Myth?

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