27-01-2025
Cleveland weddings are $7,000 cheaper than the national average
Weddings nationwide will cost more in 2025, but couples can get hitched for a lot less in Cleveland, according to the wedding planning website Zola.
By the numbers: The average American wedding this year is expected to cost about $36,000, according to a Zola survey of about 6,000 engaged couples.
That's up from $33,000 in 2024.
Yes, but: The average wedding in the Cleveland area will hover around $29,000, survey results show.
That's less than half of the typical 2025 wedding in New York ($65,000).
Stunning stat: Only couples surveyed in the Dallas-Ft. Worth and Orlando metros planned to spend less per wedding than in Cleveland.
What they're saying: Allison Cullman, wedding trend and etiquette expert at Zola, says one contributing factor for the ballooning price tag is social media.
"People spend hours scrolling through an endless sea of inspiration, and oftentimes they find inspiration that costs much more than they initially anticipated," Cullman tells Axios.
💭 Sam's thought bubble: I'd always heard, and now believe wholeheartedly, that your wedding can only be two of the following: cheap, fun and easy.
My wife and I got married in 2015. It was cheap and fun.
More Zola survey findings
Zoom in: Nearly all couples surveyed (90%) say they would be open to using AI to streamline tasks like managing their budget or writing thank-you cards.
Some (23%) are already using it, up 5% from last year.
No surprise here: Christmas is the most popular date of the year to get engaged, followed by Dec. 23, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.
Also not a surprise: The planning workload is lopsided for 85% of couples.
Most women (81%) reported that the groom spent little to zero time planning.
And most same-sex couples (68%) said that most of the planning falls on one partner.
💗 The intrigue: Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love" ranks as the top first-dance song.
