NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio — The cost of saying "I Do" is getting more expensive. According to the wedding planning website, "The Knot," the national average cost of a wedding in 2023 was $35,000 — a $5,000 increase from 2022.
With inflation impacting everyone's budgets, wedding industry experts say more couples are opting for smaller celebrations, like micro weddings, to save money. Micro weddings typically include 50 people or less, with the average cost around $10,000.
Good Morning Cleveland anchor Mike Brookbank spoke to a bride from North Royalton who chose to go small for her "big day."
"We just kind of wanted to get married as soon as we could and in that sense, it didn't really make sense to save up, spend the time to save up and do a large wedding party," said Lauren Medved.
She and her husband, Leighton, tied the knot in 2023 in front of a small group of close friends and family. The couple spent less than $3,000 on the ceremony. They later held a party to celebrate their marriage. The couple spent about $5,000 total on wedding activities.
"We didn't have a wedding planner," said Medved. "We had fake flowers, I bought my dress on Etsy."
Medved shopped at discount stores for decorations. However, there was one expense the couple didn't skimp on.
"We did spend a decent amount on photography at least for what we were expecting, but I think that was worth it," said Medved.
While micro weddings are designed to save money, they can present challenges. Jack Caporal, a researcher who tracks wedding trends, said smaller weddings often lead to tough choices.
"One is the limited guest list might actually generate headaches because you could have friends and family who might get offended that they haven't been invited to your wedding," said Caporal.
That's something Medved experienced.
"That was like the toughest part. I have cousins that I'm close with and saying sorry, we're not inviting you, it's not like we don't like you," said Medved.
Looking back, Medved said she doesn't regret that her "big day" wasn't so big.
"The best part of the day for me was just not being overwhelmed with people," said Medved. "You don't really get to enjoy yourselves, and I'm so glad that that's not what we did on our wedding. Like, I'm glad we just had our own intimate time together."
