Dave’s Diary: It’s Weddings Month–Better Get Your Checkbook

New Year’s Eve is a popular date for marriage proposals.  There are almost as many questions popped as bottles of champagne!  So much so that January is the official Weddings Month.  As fathers-of-the-bride everywhere fear and know, weddings can be expensive!

The “average wedding” these days runs you close to $25,000!  But dollars spent getting married doesn’t track with happy time spent being married.  Ask a few brides and you’ll actually discover the less the couple spends on the “material” items i.e. the perfect dress, the ice sculpture, the country club reception, the cinematographers, the white doves, stretch limos, the more likely they stay together.

Current average expenses:

• Wedding dress: $1,450
• Cake: $410
• Music/DJ: $971
• Reception: $14,540
• Flowers: $1,500
• Honeymoon: $6,000
• Bachelor party $800 (mostly $1′s and $5′s!)