“Traditional is totally out,” proclaims Olivia Grayce, a Columbus, Ohio, wedding planner. Today’s weddings, Grayce says, are meant to be a couple’s “showcase.” Couples should only invite the “people they love most” and should prioritize “customization and individualization,” she said. They should also, it goes without saying, spend a lot of money.
The average American couple now spends $36,000 on their wedding. That’s more than double what they’d have spent in 1990. The ballooning price tag is not simply due to inflation or tariffs; the American wedding industry has been steadily growing for decades, sitting now at an estimated $65 billion annually.
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