The Need-To-Know Stats to Plan the Perfect Wedding

June is the most popular month to tie the knot, but brides and grooms have so many questions while planning for the big day. How many groomsmen should I have? How many bridesmaids? What should our budget be? While there is no rule book stating what you can and cannot do with your wedding and the reception, each year, websites and organizations release a list of statistics with averages and percentages from the previous year’s weddings.

Only a couple months ago, The Knot released the 2014 Real Weddings Study Statistics, mapping out the averages for weddings for that year. In 2014, the average wedding cost $31,213, not including the honeymoon cost. In fact, receptions are now becoming the more costly portion of the wedding day, instead of the ceremony. Couples are spending more on the celebration. Spending for cocktail hours rose to 76 percent from 96 percent in 2010.

Here are some of the main statistics from The Knot for 2014 weddings:

• Average Wedding Cost: $31,213 (not including honeymoon)
• Average Spent on Wedding Dress: $1,357
• Average Number of Guests: 136
• Average Number of Bridesmaids: 4 to 5
•  Average Number of Groomsmen: 4 to 5
• Most Popular Month to Get Married: June, then October

These stats are not the only things changing for weddings. Technology is also taking over. Couples have begun researching and planning on their mobile devices and applications. The use of smartphones for wedding planning almost doubled from 2011 at 33 percent to 2014 at 61 percent.

The budget is the trickiest part. Nearly half of couples go over budget when planning for a wedding. But who helps pay? The stereotype has always been that the bride’s parents will pay for the majority of the marriage, and the stats are supporting that claim. According to The Knot, the bride’s parents contribute (on average) 43 percent of the weeding, the bride and groom also pay 43 percent, and the groom’s parents pay 12 percent. Only 12 percent of couples will actually pay for the wedding themselves.

Don’t let this discourage you. There are ways to save and budget appropriately for a wedding, and even for the things you may forget to budget in. In fact, roughly 26 percent of couples last year stayed within their budget. The Knot has a Wedding Budget Calculator, a great tool to customize and manage your wedding.

About the Author: Jane is a guest contributor from The Perfect Card Box, specializing in personal photo card boxes for any celebration, including weddings.