Pent-up demand from the pandemic, combined with inflation<\/a>, has driven up the cost of the average wedding to more than $27,000, according to market research firm The Wedding Report<\/a> (opens in new tab)<\/span>. I\u2019m in the midst of my own wedding-planning journey, treading water in a sea of decisions with my fianc\u00e9. But in the several months we\u2019ve been engaged, I\u2019ve learned some strategies to control the cost of what is quickly amounting to the most expensive day of my life.<\/p>\n Cut down on guest numbers<\/strong>How to Cut Costs on Wedding Planning<\/h2>\n
During the pandemic, couples were forced to reduce guest counts and that trend has held \u2014 even as the threat from Covid has subsided. \u201cThe pandemic really forced a lot of people to take stock of what actually mattered about their wedding and determine who was most important in their lives to be there to celebrate with them,\u201d says Jessica Bishop, author of The Budget-Savvy Wedding Planner & Organizer<\/em><\/a> (opens in new tab)<\/span>.<\/em> And slashing the guest list is the number-one way to cut the costs of a wedding. \u201cFor every guest you invite, that\u2019s an invitation, a chair, a meal, a place setting. Or for every eight to 10 guests, it\u2019s another table with another linen, another centerpiece,\u201d Bishop says. \u00a0<\/p>\n