Recent Wedding Statistics:

Most brides plan their weddings for 7 to 12 months.
An average of 189 guests attends a wedding.
The average cost of a wedding in the Bay Area ranges from $22,000 to $30,000.
Hiring a wedding consultant can reduce your overall expenses significantly, and is only 5-6% of your total wedding costs.
Brides make an average of 177 purchasing decisions.
The average bride spends 8 hours/week on her wedding plans.
85 percent of weddings are held in a church or synagogue.
More than half of all weddings take place in the afternoon.
Hawaii is the favorite honeymoon destination.
Top wedding destinations are Las Vegas (100,000 weddings/year), Hawaii (25,000 weddings/year), Bahamas (5,000 weddings/year), Jamaica (5,000 weddings/year), U.S. Virgin Islands (4,000 weddings/year).
55 percent of engaged couples considered eloping because the stress and details of wedding planning had gotten out of hand.

Are You A Princess?

"Traditional princess bride" — a young woman with parents active in the planning and financing of a once-in-a-lifetime, fairy-tale wedding.
"Traditional independent bride" — financially independent, plans her own wedding, often with the help of the groom; blends tradition with her own style.
"Nontraditional independent brides" — typically marries later or was married before; plans a small, nontraditional wedding.

The average engagement is 16 months (up from 11 months in 1990).
The average first-time bride was 22 in 1980, 25 in 1990, and 25.1 today.
The average age of remarrying brides was 32 in 1980, 35 in 1990, and 34 in 2000.
The average age of the first-time groom is 26.8 and 37+ for the remarrying groom.
Four out of five brides are employed.

Interest is growing in reconnecting to family and seeing occasions such as weddings as an opportunity to bring generations together.
Increasingly, the couple and parents share wedding expenses.
With brides and grooms emerging from blended and stepfamilies, the wedding can become a tradition and communication challenge. For example, who walks the bride down the aisle? Where do step-parents and former in-laws sit? Hiring a wedding coordinator can assist with etiquette and avoid making unintended social faux-pas.
About 15 percent of weddings include ethnic customs.
Destination weddings (with travel to exotic locations) tripled between 1997 and 1999 — from 3 to 11 percent.

Hiring wedding consultants to direct the event — no matter how much we love her, mother does not always know best!
Wedding ceremonies in unusual venues — museums, zoos, gardens, historic buildings, etc.
Black-and-white photojournalistic-style pictures.
Letterpress wedding invitations.
Original artwork or logos for invitations, custom designed.
Menu cards at each place setting.
Vintage cars and specialty vehicles, including yachts and boats, for transportation.
Platinum rings.
Lighting trees and other plants at venue with soft, white lights.
Simpler veils, some floor length.
Jeweled clips or fresh flowers in hair.
Simple and classic styles with fine fabrics for wedding gowns and bridesmaids dresses.
Couples showers as opposed to bridal showers.
Professionally-produced videos to be played at receptions.
Focus on the guests having fun: novel floral arrangements, more elegant foods, wines, cakes.
Focus on detail — parking, favors, maps, etc. A skilled wedding coordinator can make your event one they'll remember for years to come.
Honeymoon registry.
Longer, more elaborate, exotic honeymoons.

Information above is a compilation of statistics found on the Hallmark, American Greetings and ACWPC web sites.

Send us an email to schedule your free initial complimentary consultation or call Dreamcatcher Events at (925) 947-3999.