2011 Real Weddings Survey

A Wedding Survey of 18,000 US brides was conducted by TheKnot.com and WeddingChannel.com.

The 2011 Real Weddings Survey results reveal that wedding budgets are increasing for the first time in 5 years!

Top Wedding Trends

§  Bigger Budgets. For the first time in 5 years, the average wedding budget has grown from the previous year. Things are finally looking good for the economy!

§  Wedding Planning is starting earlier, sometimes before the engagement!

§  Luxury Weddings (over $100,000) are popular, 74% of which are 3 days or longer. Luxury brides are choosing traditional color palettes, including ivory, champagne and metallics.

§  Casual Weddings (less formal dress code) are on the rise. Although Long Island weddings are the most formal, with 37% being black tie.

§  While summer is still the reigning “wedding season”, Fall Weddings are becoming more popular. In 2011 the fall dates of 9/10/11 and 11/11/11 were very popular.

§  Purple is the fastest-growing wedding color. The most popular wedding colors for 2011 were #1 – Blue, #2 – Purple, #3 – Green and #4 – Pink.

§  Interactive Entertainment, such as photo booths and comedians, is on the rise. Couples are investing in Interactive Food Stations, such as wine tastings and sushi chefs.

§  Cupcakes are still popular, but the wedding cake is not going away anytime soon, with 67% of brides still serving a traditional tiered wedding cake.

§  Technology. Most couples have a wedding website. And more of the wedding planning is now done on smartphones and other portable devices.

2011 Wedding Statistics

§  Average Wedding Budget: $27,021 (not including honeymoon)

§  Most Expensive Place to Get Married: Manhattan ($65,824 on average)

§  Least Expensive Place to Get Married: West Virginia ($14,203 on average)

§  Average Age: Bride, 29; Groom, 30 (Hawaii has the oldest brides – 31)

§  Average Number of Guests: 141 (Iowa brides invite the most guests)

§  Average Number of Bridesmaids: 4-5 (Same for the Groomsmen!)

§  Most Popular Month to Get Engaged: December (16%)

§  Most Popular Month to Get Married: September (15%)

§  Percentage of Destination Weddings: 24%