Average Cost of A Wedding In 2016 Will Make You Consider Elopement

Every young lady dreams about her wedding day.  All the flowers, the guests, and marrying the man of her dreams. However, he cost of a wedding is going up.

A new survey by theknot.com reveals that the average cost of a wedding is $32,641. That's up $5,000 from 2010. Other findings:

• The most expensive place to marry in the US is Manhattan where couples spend $82,299 on their wedding.
• The most affordable place to marry is Alaska where an average wedding costs $17,361
• The average wedding has 139 guests
• The average cost of a wedding reception is $14,788
• The average cost of an engagement ring is $5,871 up from $5,855 in 2014
• The 2013 national average spent on a wedding dress was $1,281, and the year before it was $1,211. Apart from venue, photographer, and planner, the wedding dress was one of the costliest items of the whole event.

So this begs the question:  Do you REALLY want to spend that much on a wedding?

Eloping to Vegas sounds pretty good to me. Basic ceremonies there cost as little as $55 (tack on tips and a "minister" fee).  Still, if I could get married by a guy in an Elvis costume, I'd jump at the opportunity!