Data research group The Wedding Report has released its spending numbers on weddings for the first quarter of 2017. The numbers are based on 3,401 survey samples collected from January 1, 2017 through March 31, 2017. During the first three months of 2017, the report shows that the average spending on engagement rings totaled $3,406 – just one dollar short of the average spend on engagement rings in 2016.
Wedding rings for the bride totaled $786 – one dollar less than the $785 spent on wedding rings for brides in 2016. The average spending on men’s wedding bands remained stable at $456.
In the first quarter of 2017, American couples spent $25,961 on their wedding, compared to $26,720 spent in 2016 – a 2.8% drop. According to the Wedding Report, the reason for the decline in overall spending is “due to falling demand for services like transportation, entertainment, and beauty. Couples seem to be looking for alternatives or other options, rather than the traditional route, for these services”.
Other notable numbers from the report include:
• Brides spent an average of $1,220 on wedding dresses.
• Couples spent an average of $735 on DJs, and $1,698 on live bands.
• Couples spent an average of $4,674 on food.
• Couples spent an average of $419 on the wedding cake alone.
In 2016, interesting trends were revealed in several wedding-related surveys and reports. For instance, a UK survey by gift card marketplace Zeek revealed that the Brits have their own priorities when setting out to buy tokens of love: 15% of the respondents (more than one in ten) look for discounted engagement rings.
Another survey by The Wedding Report showed that in 2016, emerald-shape diamonds were not popular among people seeking an engagement ring. A poll taken by costofwedding.com between July 1 and July 20 revealed that 38.3% of the respondents would avoid emerald-shape diamonds. 26.7% said they “love” the emerald-cut and 5.8% said it would be too hard to pair it with a wedding band.
