The Best Places to Get Married

With Valentine’s Day around the corner and the average wedding costing around $30,000, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2024’s Best Places to Get Married, as well as expert commentary.

To help couples find the most wedding-friendly destinations, WalletHub compared more than 180 of the biggest U.S. cities across 26 key indicators of cost-effectiveness, convenience, and enjoyment. It’s important to explore some of the top-rated outdoor wedding venue options available across the country. The data set ranges from average wedding cost to venues and event spaces per capita to wedding vendors. 

Best vs. Worst 

• Fort Smith, Arkansas, has the lowest average wedding cost, which is 3.2 times lower than in Honolulu and Pearl City, Hawaii, the cities with the highest.  
• Washington has the most event planners per capita, which is 9.6 times more than in Huntington, West Virginia, the city with the fewest. 
• San Francisco has the most musicians per capita, which is 65.2 times more than in Newark, New Jersey, the city with the fewest. 

“A person’s wedding day can be the happiest day of their life, but it can also be a financial nightmare with how expensive venues, food and other essentials are. Getting married in a city that minimizes cost while maximizing options is ideal. It’s also important to consider the financial needs of guests – even if you can afford a flashy destination wedding, you may not have the best attendance if most guests have to pay for costly flights and lodging.”
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“Orlando, FL is the best city to get married in, in part due to the fact that it ranks at the top of the nation when it comes to the number of venues, party equipment rentals, videographers, DJs and flower shops per capita. Orlando is a good place for out-of-town guests to stay in because its three-star hotels are relatively inexpensive for a big city. Plus, Orlando ranks second among the most fun cities, so the wedding party and guests can enjoy activities before and after the big day.”

–  Cassandra Happe, WalletHub Analyst

Expert Commentary

What tips do you have for a couple planning a wedding and hoping to stay on a budget?

“The reception is usually the largest cost of a wedding. Couples should ‘shop around’ and visit as many venues as possible. See what each place can offer and any perks that would be part of the overall venue/food prices (free parking, free room for the bride and groom, free drinks for an hour, bringing in your liquor and bartender, etc.). Remember to ASK the people running the reception venue what other things they can add to the cost of renting the venue for free or reduce the food and drink bill. Try to book things in advance (1 to 2 years) and if you can avoid the peak season for weddings (May through October). Ask the venue if there is a discount on the price of using the venue based on the time of year. Talk to past brides and grooms who have used the venue before to see what they liked, and disliked and what they would have changed.”
Patrick Penfield PhD – Professor; Director of Executive Education, Martin J. Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University

“Invest in a planner or budget tracker to help you keep on top of your wedding expenses. Many of the online wedding websites…have a planner built into them for couples’ convenience. Look for deals. You do not have to be cheap, but you also should not have to pay top dollar for everything you want at your wedding. Couples should look for deals. Couples should have conversations about what is important for them to have at the wedding and what is not. If centerpieces or seat covers are not of concern, do not break the bank trying to add them to your wedding.”
Bornell Nicholson, Ph.D., LMFT – Clinical Director & Assistant Professor, Whitworth University

How has inflation impacted the wedding service industry?

“Inflation has had impacts across all sectors of life and the wedding industry is no different. It costs more to host fewer people; vendors have had to increase their prices to ensure they make a profit and there are these unspoken (and sometimes spoken) expectations that people have to navigate about what their wedding is supposed to look like. I have found that people are being faced with tough decisions about what to include in their big day, having to cut down on who they want to invite or having longer engagements to accommodate saving money for these new wedding budgets. I will be curious to see how things evolve as our economic situation, particularly in the U.S. continues to evolve.”
Tiara Fennell, M.S., LMFT – Clinic Director of the Center for Healthy Families, University of Maryland

“Like everything in the past several years, the wedding service industry has seen prices going up, anywhere from 5 – 15%. In this business, they see increased prices for materials/services and increased demand due to all the weddings that were canceled/postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Patrick Penfield PhD – Professor; Director of Executive Education, Martin J. Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University

What factors should couples consider when setting a budget for their wedding?

“When couples are considering their budget for their wedding, I believe it is important to have or begin having conversations about how they individually manage finances, determine their shared fiscal responsibilities, and construct a budget for their wedding that will not add additional stressors. The average wedding costs close to $30,000, which is a significant amount of money for anyone. Let alone if you are managing more than one household, and have outstanding debts (i.e. student loans, mortgage, credit cards, etc.). This will probably be one of the first of many vulnerable conversations that couples will have and they should choose the financial option that would work the best for their unique situation.”
Tiara Fennell, M.S., LMFT – Clinic Director of the Center for Healthy Families, University of Maryland

“Couples should consider three main factors when setting a wedding budget: the people, the place, and the food/drinks. The People: Couples should have a good estimate of how many attendants they would like at their wedding. This will help them plan for how much space and food/drinks are needed. The Place: If a couple wants 300 attendees at their wedding, they need a venue that comfortably fits that many people. Furthermore, the venue sets the scene for the magical day, so finding something within a good price range, and location is very advantageous. Finally, food/drink should be considered. Pick a meal that you think most guests would want to eat. Possibly talk to parents or in-laws about this. Because in all honesty, the newlyweds will probably not get to enjoy it much, when running from table to table greeting everyone. Regarding drinks, couples need to consider if they are going to have a dry wedding. Cash bar? Or an open bar? Pick the option that fits for you and your attendees.”
Bornell Nicholson, Ph.D., LMFT – Clinical Director & Assistant Professor, Whitworth University