It’s a Boom Year for Brides and Grooms

For context, the uptick in weddings this year is substantial but not mind-blowing. Around 2.1 million weddings happened each year between 2009 and 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (with a relatively puny 1.3 million happening in 2020 and 1.93 million in 2021, according to the Wedding Report).

For those forging ahead, bottlenecks aplenty could await, especially because the pandemic has spurred challenge after challenge for the multibillion dollar wedding industry. Less clear are the elements that will shift the most, and how couples and guests can get a grip on them.

Shane McMurray, the Wedding Report’s founder, has a tip. “If you’re going to go through with a wedding in 2022, be patient,” he said. And financially flexible, too, because he anticipates that the average cost of a wedding in 2021, around $22,000, will rise to just under $25,000.

Tara Melvin, the founder of Perfect Planning Events in Washington, D.C., said the added expense this year can be blamed on inflation and continuing supply chain kinks. “Our vendor partners, especially floral designers, are having a hard time getting things from manufacturers,” she said. “Even paper for invitations is hard to come by.”

For those same reasons, wedding guests can also plan on increased expenses. In 2019, guests spent an average of $430 to attend a wedding, according to a study by WeddingWire, a site that tracks trends and operates an online marketplace for the industry. But in 2022, that number is likely trending up. Not just because of all the registry gifts and bridesmaid dresses or other attire people invited to multiple weddings may need to purchase, but also because as fuel costs rise, transportation has gotten more expensive, too.