With the average wedding now costing couples what could be a down payment on a house or new car, many are looking to different options, including what is being called “micro weddings.”
According to the popular online wedding marketplace, The Knot, the micro weddings include a guest list of around 50 people, while the even smaller “minimony” only has 10 people in attendance.
The wedding website shared that the smaller ceremonies come as the average cost of a wedding in 2023 was $35,000, a $5,000 increase from 2022, according to The Knot 2023 Real Weddings Study.
While the pandemic put weddings on hold for countless couples who wanted to include everyone on their special day, inflation has seen a reverse effect.
With prices being driven sky-high, experts find that some couples are simply refusing to pay astronomical prices for their big day.
Data from The Wedding Report shared with CNBC found that couples can save the most money by cutting down on their guest lists and that while a majority still have events with more than 50 guests, the number of smaller weddings is growing.
In 2023, weddings with 25 to 50 guests took up about 15% of the market, while weddings with less than 25 guests made up roughly 2%, the data showed.
The data also shared that the average guest count at weddings has been declining since 2006 when the average was about 184 people.
Shane McMurray, CEO and co-founder of The Wedding Report, shared with CNBC that the size of weddings was at its lowest in 2020 (107) but rebounded in 2021 (124).
However, he says that “because of how expensive it is to get married now,” it wouldn’t be out of left field to see the size of weddings “start to come back down.”
“The number one way to save money on your wedding is to cut the guest count,” McMurray said.
This is mainly due to every other wedding cost being tied to guests, like invitations, favors, meals, drinks, and more.