DETROIT (WXYZ) — Wedding season is in full swing across the US, but between inflation and supply chain issues, couples are feeling the heat as overall costs continue to soar.
According to a recent survey by Zola, this year 70% of couples are spending more on their wedding than they originally planned.
After dating for 10 years, and pushing back their wedding date three times, Christianna and Brian Campagne finally tied the knot back on June 10,2022.
"Our wedding was pretty much everything we could have dreamed of," said Christianna.
But, their dream wedding, in the new normal, meant spending $75,000, compared to the $40,000 they originally planned for 2020.
"We had issues with our florist, we had issues finding a violinist, and our wedding cake price went up but our florist that was definitely an expense that we were not expecting," said Christianna.
Lotoya Vongrechin and Gabriella Ammiano from the V Agency organized Christianna and Brian’s wedding. They say due to the pandemic, costs this year have gone up by 30 percent.
"The wedding industry is made up of small businesses. So, a lot of businesses have closed because they weren't getting business for 2 years, so that has increased costs as well," said Lotoya Vongrechin, CEO & Creative Director, V Agency.
Limited products, labor shortages, higher rental, and delivery costs, as well as volatile gas prices, are all forcing couples to loosen up their wallets.
According to a recent survey, average spending for weddings increased to $27,000 in 2021, that’s up 25% from $20,000 in 2020.
Also, corporate events have a similar story. Carole Galle from Special D Events says across metro Detroit, the overall cost for events has gone up by 40%, but it is not deterring customers.
"We haven’t seen our clients cutting back, there is so much pent-up demand for people to be face and face and do business and interact," said Galle.
While Lotoya and Gabriella are also seeing clients not holding back this year due to costs there are still ways to save.
"Confirm your budget, be steadfast on your guest count and make it as small as possible and hire a wedding planner," said Lotoya Vongrechin - CEO & Creative Director, V Agency
Regardless of the event, Lotoya and Carole also recommend being flexible with your wish list and planning as far ahead as possible. This will help you secure better rates and explore more options.
