Brides on a budget: the unique trends impacting Utah's wedding industry.

• Author: Biton, Adva
• Position: DIY Weddings

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

For those who just got engaged--or have children that are getting engaged--euphoria about upcoming nuptials can quickly become overshadowed by financial worries. The nation's $60 billion wedding industry, like the healthcare industry, exists in that mysterious stratosphere where almost nobody has any idea how much anything will cost.

Researching online does little to help. Ratings on wedding services are plentiful, but hard numbers about how much the Utah wedding industry pulls are scarce. The Wedding Report site claims Utah's wedding industry brings in nearly $700 million, but other figures put that number lower--in 2008, the Deseret News claimed the industry makes $200 million annually. Because Utah has the sixth-most weddings per capita in the nation, (8.5 weddings per 1,000 people, according to 2010 data from the Department of Health), one might expect that prices to get married in the state would be exorbitant. The truth is just the opposite.

What's in a wedding?

While figures vary per study, Utah is consistently ranked one of the most affordable--if not the most affordable--place in the nation to get married. According to a 2014 study released by wedding site The Knot, Utah has an average spend of $15,257 per wedding, while Manhattan floats above at No. 1 with a whopping $76,328 average price tag per wedding.

Part of the problem with pinning down wedding costs is nobody knows what they're supposed to buy and what the base prices are for anything. The average price of a wedding in Utah is put as low as $9,804 in some studies (Thumbtack) and as high as nearly $25,000 in others (The Wedding Report). The Knot claims the average national spend in the nation per wedding is $31,213, but Thumbtack claims that couples will spend an average on $12,189 on their "wedding essentials." Meanwhile, wedding industry veterans react with frustration with the heaps of misinformation.

"A lot of people will call and--even in the rental industry-ask us if the amount to rent is the amount to buy, not rent," says Brooke Ware, who does event sales for Diamond Rental, an event, party, tool and equipment rental company with multiple locations in Utah. "We struggle with people not wanting to spend the money. People are price-shocked when they begin to put together the wedding. It's the unknown. People are naive here. When they start the process, they're shocked with the cost associated with things."

Further complicating matters is the fact that what goes into a wedding--and thus, what comprises the "wedding essentials" that couples need to pay for--varies tremendously in the state of Utah. Traditional LDS weddings in the state look quite different from what one sees in bridal magazines or movies. Michelle Cousins, owner and lead designer for Michelle Leo Events, says that conversations she has with her...