Photo: Getty Images
It’s not really “news” that Americans go overboard when it comes to throwing a wedding. From lavish flower walls to champagne towers, it’s pretty easy to drop some major dough on “the wedding of your dreams,” as we’re so accustomed to saying in the age of Say Yes to the Dress and Four Weddings. But are the rather, ahem, pricey nuptials as prevalent across the pond in our neighboring countries? Well, according to recent surveys from MarketWatch and The Knot, our European companions couldn’t be more different when it comes to how much they spend on their wedding celebrations.
In fact, Americans tend to spend SIX TIMES as much money on their ceremony and reception as Europeans do. Can you guess what the average U.S. citizen spends on their big day celebration? Spoiler: it ain’t cheap.
According to an ATTN video posted on Facebook (which also happens to have a whopping 12.8 million views after being promoted on May 14), Americans spend an average of $32,641 on their I do’s, whereas budget-conscious Europeans tend to spend a much more reasonable amount of cash — about $5,495 to be exact. It seems that to Europeans, their wedding day isn’t their big ticket item to splurge on. Nope, they’d rather save up their money and spend big on a nice house.
Meanwhile, in the land of the U-S of A, engaged couples are finding that planning a wedding can take quite a toll on their well-being. The ATTN video highlighted that 42% of women and 32% of men feel overwhelmed by the wedding planning process, which, as you can imagine, puts a damper on the whole “we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together!” idea.
Now, we’re not suggesting you settle for a $5,000 wedding just to appease the makers of this video, but at the end of the day it’s not about the money you spend on your wedding, but rather who it is you’re getting married to. Food for thought!
See More: Follow These 6 Facebook Pages to Relieve Wedding Planning Stress STAT