Getting Married In New York? Your Ultimate Guide to How Much It’ll Cost & How to Save!

Average Wedding Expenses in New York

If you can marry here, you’ll marry anywhere…, doesn’t sound like much of a compliment does it? So, apologies to the state and city of New York, and the man who loved it, Ol’ Blue Eyes (that’s Frank Sinatra for the younger crowd)! Now let’s move on from the New York themed puns and talk brass tax.

Location, Location, Location

The specific location you choose to get married within The Big Apple can make a BIG difference in the overall cost of your wedding. The average wedding in the Bronx can set you back as much as $23,000 and a Manhattan wedding can cost as much as $39,000. But New Yorkers ain’t no fools, so don’t let the numbers foo …ahem… deceive you!

Digging a Little Deeper

It might surprise you to hear that the average cost per guest in the Bronx (approximate average $200/guest) is slightly higher than the average cost per guest in Manhattan (approximate average $170), although people in Manhattan tend to invite double the people to their weddings (220 versus 110). This data is depicted in the chart below. Remember, unless you go extremely over the top with jewelry, the greatest determining factor of the cost of your wedding will be the number of guest you’ve invited and the money you intend to spend per invitee. Money spent may average out a bit higher, but, as you probably won’t be all too shocked to hear, getting married in the Bronx is in fact cheaper than getting married in Manhattan.

Same Old, Same Old …But a Little Different

News Flash! Getting married in New York isn’t as different as people who choose it to make that major step would like to think…

The breakdown of overall wedding costs is not only more or less the same regardless of where you choose to marry in New York, it’s more or less the same irrespective of where you are married in the United States. Consistently throughout the country, 40-45% of wedding costs usually apply to the venue, catering, and rentals, 12-15% goes toward jewelry, 8-10% is spent on photography and video, and 5% is applied toward the cost of a wedding planner and/or consultant, as well as the cost of attire, accessories, flowers and decorations, leaving a remaining 17-20% left over for incidentals and “the rest”.

Even where the percentages even out, there is a sizable difference between New York State and Manhattan or NYC, as well as the rest of the country, and that difference lies in the amount of couples having weddings that cost less than $10,000. In the Bronx for example, almost half of the couples who get married, approximately 44%, have sub-$10,000 weddings. In other states this figure is 40%, and only 21% of couples married in NYC spend less than ten grand on their weddings; it is NYC after all!

Getting the best bang for your buck doesn’t always mean the same thing as getting married on the cheap.

Money Talks

We all enjoy getting more for less right? You can usually count on the human interest in money (saving, spending, and earning it) to bring out a willingness in people to be hands on in their affairs, especially in the metropolis that houses the New York Stock Exchange; a great bastion of capitalism. The following are direct approaches you can take by following these tips on how to save cash on your wedding.

Something Borrowed, Something Blue… Something Cheap Would Be Nice Too

You’ve heard the expression “a New York minute”, but have you imagined being prepared to plan a wedding in one? If you’re up for the challenge, you could save yourself a whole lot of moola! Knowing approximately when you want to get married and having a budget in mind that doesn’t go too far over the top means that it shouldn’t be  problem for you to organize many of the peripheral elements in advance. Higher ticket items such as jewelry can be purchased well in advance, and whether a wedding dress will be rented or purchased it can be obtained on fairly short notice so long as you’re not looking to buy a custom garment, and renting a tux or suit will usually be even less of an issue. Many women aren’t crazy about the thought of renting a wedding dress, but if you’re looking to cut back it is a good option. It’s up to you how much sentimental value and the possibility of passing the dress down, keeping in mind styles can change drastically through the years, means to you.

Trimming the Fat - How You Can Save $$ By Letting Go

Is spending $23,000 on a wedding planner really a necessity for you? What about $180 on beauty and spa treatments, $1,100 on printed invitations, or $1,000 on expensive gifts and favors? Cutting these costs all together or finding ways to spend smarter can save you money without detracting from a magnificent wedding. Free wedding websites offer online invitation that can be sent to your guests via email. This is cheaper, more practical, and even easier than sending out printed invitations and manually keeping track of RSVPs. The most significant wedding gifts are practical, perhaps even edible, and include a personal touch such as a handwritten note from the bride and groom. So think outside of the box! As for wedding planners, there is a wealth of knowledge available online and at your fingertips these days. You can easily find all sorts of useful information on how to plan your big day! Still don’t trust the computer or maybe even yourself? Consider hiring other types of event and party planners.

Cash is King

If you want to negotiate the costs associated with your wedding, remember that cash can always be used as a bargaining chip. Venders will always prefer the look and feel of cash over that of plastic or even checks. If you don’t have the cash in hand you can still attempt to bargain, but cash is a great weapon to have in your arsenal. Independently owned stores and independently operating vendors can often be more flexible with prices, but don’t be too aggressive in the process of those negotiations, or you can find yourself thrown out and without your first choiceץ

Saving on smaller wedding expenses is great, but the real savings are to be had with higher cost items. Remember, 20% savings on $3,000 is more than 20% savings on $700.

There are a number of ways to save on big ticket items, including some of those mentioned in Part 2. Some methods are specific to the item you are negotiating but others are more general. So, with no further adieu:

Jewelry

Couples marrying in the Bronx tend to pay $2,000 less on wedding jewelry than those who marry in Manhattan (an average of $3,700 vs. $5,700). Wherever you are getting married, you can usually get a better price on a diamond ring by shopping online instead of visiting a retail jeweler. Online jewelers are usually very transparent in their dealings. These businesses are global and open 24/7, and so they realize that their reputation must be an impeccable one. One bad deal or review can mean significant harm to the business; we all know the internet makes the world a very small place and news travels faster than ever. Even so, make sure to do your part by doing your research. There is no need to purchase jewelry from overseas as there are numerous reputable online dealers based in the U.S. Of Course if you do buy online, you won’t be able to pay in or negotiate with cash, but you can still usually find an excellent deal! Keep an eye out for special sales and online promotions.

Flower Power

Many weddings in New York are held indoors, especially in the colder months of winter. Undoubtedly, flowers add color and ambiance to your wedding, but there are other ways to do this. Color can be added through the creative use of decorative cloth such as tablecloths, napkins, and chair covers. A yard of cloth will cost you a lot less than flowers that cover a yard of space; saving you plenty compared to the average $2,300 spent on flowers in NYC.

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words - But Are They Worth $4000?

High quality pictures and video are important reminders of your special day, but at an average of $4,000 in NYC, these things can cost you a pretty significant chunk of change. Try booking your photography and video team as close as possible to you actual wedding date; if a professional isn’t already booked then he or she will usually agree to work for a bit less than their usual rate in favor of regretting the job they didn’t take. Aside from this, New York City has many able photographers in New York, some of whom are struggling to pay the bills, so ask your friends if they know any amateur photographers that they would recommend. Another money saving tip is to compile a digital album of your wedding photos. It is much quicker and easier to view your photos on a small screen, or even a big screen through the use of your HDMI cable, and it is cheaper for the photographer to provide you with photos in this manner as well.

…And Now for the Really Big Ticket Items

The venue you choose will be the biggest expense for your wedding, along with catering and rentals, which combine at around an average cost of $18,000 in NYC. Reserving a venue is another instance where waiting until you are closer to your wedding date can work to your advantage, due to the possibility of cancellation or free dates which can lead to very good prices. Waiting until so near the last minute may seem a bit scary. Not having a specific date to give your friends as far in advance as is usually customary and not having the assurance of a booked location can make anyone a bit nervous, so don’t worry too much if it isn’t the right choice for you. Still, if you are ready to move in a New York minute while organizing your wedding, you can save a bundle of cash without any loss in the quality of your wedding.

Food

Booking a caterer as close as possible to the date of your wedding, and opting for a breakfast buffet wedding are both ways to spend less cash. Breakfast buffet style courses can save you money on alcohol costs, and the items on the menu will be drastically different than they would be for a wedding taking place later in the evening. Bargaining power in terms of rentals can still be achieved, although it will be to a lesser degree, but there are many ways to get creative; including booking your favorite food truck to cater your wedding.

There is opportunity to save real money when it comes to food, especially considering that food and drinks comprise over 40% of your wedding expenses. It may seem like a crazy amount of work, but don’t sweat it. Alternative weddings are quite popular in this day and age, and you can handle a couple of bumps in the road along the way!

Your wedding is meant to be a once and a lifetime event, and the night should be memorable and special for the right reasons. Alicia Keyes may have been right about New York being a concrete jungle, but don’t forget that it’s also where dreams are made.

Here’s a Recap: Average New York Wedding Expenses

Check out Genesis Diamonds Wedding Market for more great tips on how to save money on your wedding.

This post was put together for you based on data from Cost of Wedding in order to provide you with the most important facts on how much it would cost to get married in New York.