NEW YORK – Rhode Island ranks fourth among the top 20 most expensive wedding areas, with the average wedding spending at $41,169, according to the 2010 Real Weddings Survey released by TheKnot.com and WeddingChannel.com.
Out pricing local weddings were ones in New York and New Jersey: Manhattan ($70,730); Long Island, the Hudson Valley and New York City outer boroughs ($51,811, $45,695, $44,718, respectively); and northern/central New Jersey ($49,347) and southern New Jersey ($36,694).
“Brides remain committed to planning a luxurious, memorable event and are willing to spend despite the state of the economy,” said Carley Roney, editor-in-chief of The Knot Inc. One in five brides spend more than $30,000 on their weddings and 12 percent spend more than $40,000, he said.
The least expensive area to get married was Utah where an average of $13,214 was spent. The survey included responses from 19,000 U.S. couples who were married in 2010.
The average spending nationwide on a wedding, excluding the honeymoon, was $26,984 with the two largest budget items as the reception venue, $12,124, and the engagement ring, $5,392.
Other regional “expensive” areas included Boston at No. 7 ($35,458), Connecticut at No. 9 ($35,197) and Vermont at No. 18 ($27,333).
The most popular engagement month was December and the most popular wedding month was June; the length of the average engagement was 14 months. Most brides, 43 percent, chose the traditional white or ivory for their wedding color.
The survey also noted regional differences. Manhattan and the surrounding NYC areas had the oldest average brides, 32 years, while West Texas had the youngest, 24 years.
Northeast brides have the longest average engagements, at 15.5 months, while brides from Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi have the shortest, 12 months.
For more of the findings from the 2010 Real Weddings Survey, click here.
