How much does the Wedding cost in US?

24,973 - Number of jewelry stores in the United States in 2009. Jewelry stores offer engagement, wedding and other rings to couples of all ages. In February 2011, these stores sold $2.27 billion in merchandise.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS code (448310)

$17 million is the combined wholesale value of domestically produced cut roses in 2010 for all operations with $100,000 or more in sales.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service

17,124 - The number of florists nationwide in 2009. These businesses employed 75,855 people.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS code (453110)

2.1 million - The number of marriages that took place in the United States in 2009. That breaks down to nearly 5,800 a day.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics

28.7 and 26.5 years is median age at first marriage in 2011 for men and women, respectively.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Families and Living Arrangements: 2011

Average cost of wedding bouquet, according to the Brides magazine is $230

Average cost of a Wedding is about 25,000, with about 6000 couples getting married daily, that makes the wedding industry one of the most lucrative industries, surpassed only by chocolate and travel industries. Even with economy slowing down in past few years, the average cost of the wedding went down only about 3k, (in 2007 it was 28,000). Couples still put a lot of value on how their event will look, where it will be held and by whom it will be planned.

Wedding Photography is another industry of its own, according to census survey, wedding photo make about 40% of the total professional pictures taken. Kids’ pictures are the next runner ups.

June, August and October are the 3 most popular months for the weddings.

Most recently there has been a lot of buzz on the web about what average event planner, DJ or caterer should charge for their service. Some debate that the flat fees are the best and give you better edge to win a customer, but the downfall is that the flat fee may not adequately reflect the effort and extra work you put in to the event. Some say that charging the percentage of the total cost of the event may be a solution to the problem; however that unorthodox approach caused quite uproar among meeting planners and other industry professionals. Seems that some sort of hybrid approach is needed here?

Would you charge your client a higher flat fee to stay on budget or would you rather sacrifice your effort to keep your client satisfied? Tell us what you think…

Pictures source: Pinterest