The wedding industrial complex is strong in the United States, and a new global study has captured data showing how Americans approach weddings differently from their international counterparts.
The Knot Worldwide, a leading wedding magazine and an online wedding planning resource, collaborated with its national and international sister publications and released a "2023 Global Wedding Report," which surveyed over 25,000 couples across 15 countries.
The Knot Research & Insights team published the global report on Friday, June 2.
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It broke down wedding trends in the U.S. and how those trends compare to wedding trends in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, India, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay and the U.K.
The global report identified key data points.
Those data points cover premarital relationship trends, how couples are being impacted by the economy, how they plan to spend their wedding money, the general wedding planning process — and which wedding traditions are in or out.
"The wedding industry was resilient throughout COVID-19 and bounced back quicker than most expected — but that doesn’t mean it was unchanged," said The Knot Worldwide’s CEO Tim Chi in a statement.
"Weddings look different than they did before and during the pandemic — which is why we’re calling 2023 the year of transformation," he continued.
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"We found that after spending time apart from family and friends, celebration is more important than ever and couples are creating new ways to wow their guests," he also said.
"They’re also rethinking what matters most and incorporating what’s authentic to them."
Nearly one-third (32%) of American couples meet online, The Knot's global wedding report found.
Meeting virtually is reportedly the most common way Americans are finding their long-term romantic partners.
Having mutual friends was the most common way couples met outside the U.S.
In seven countries, one-in-five or one-third of couples met because they had friends in common, including Argentina (21%), Uruguay (21%), Brazil (24%), France (27%), Portugal (27%), Spain (31%) and Italy (33%), The Knot found.
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Meeting a significant other through work was the second most common way couples met outside the U.S.
Colombia (21%), Chile (22%), Mexico (23%) and Peru (33%) were the four countries in which meeting a loved one at work was most prevalent.
In India, 40% of couples meet their long-term romantic partner through an arranged marriage, according to The Knot.
Canada tied with the U.S. in terms of online meetings, while the U.K. was a close second with 30%.
Three in four American couples (78%) reportedly live together before their weddings, according to The Knot.
The U.S. tied with Argentina on premarital cohabitation.
Yet both countries were surpassed by Portugal (80%), Italy (81%), Uruguay (82%), Canada (82%), the U.K. (90%), France (91%) and Spain (91%).
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The six countries that have a lower premarital cohabitation rate than the U.S. are Chile (75%), Colombia (52%), Peru (43%), Mexico (42%), Brazil (41%) and India (15%), according to The Knot’s findings.
Half of American couples (51%) told The Knot that their wedding budget and plans were affected or are now being affected by the current economy.
The Knot broke down economic concern responses into three categories: lower (below 35%), medium (35% to 55%) and high (over 60%).
Six other countries showed "medium" concern over the economy, including Mexico (39%), Chile (43%), Colombia (46%), Brazil (48%), Peru (51%) and Canada (52%).
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Argentina is the country with the highest economic concern, with 68% of Argentinian couples saying their wedding budgets and plans were affected by the 2023 economy, according to The Knot.
The five countries that showed the least concern about the economy — with only three in 10 having wedding budgets and plans affected — were Spain (30%), the U.K. (30%), Portugal (31%), France (31%) and Italy (34%).
American couples are reportedly spending $30,000 on 117 wedding guests, according to The Knot.
The approximate average, which is based on self-reported numbers from readers and users of The Knot’s wedding planning platform, can vary by guest count, location, season and other factors.
The U.S. has the highest wedding expenditure out of all the countries The Knot surveyed.
India could be a close second in terms of wedding spending, but the data The Knot collected varies so much that the tech company couldn’t come up with a certain average.
Indian newlyweds reportedly spend $25,000 as a "midpoint" and have 285 wedding guests on average, but some 15% of Indian couples spend over $45,000 on wedding celebrations, according to The Knot’s findings.
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The U.K., Italy and Spain were three countries that tied with a $23,000 average wedding expenditure. U.K. couples reportedly spend this for 81 guests on average while Italian couples reportedly spend this for 109 guests on average and Spanish couples reportedly spend this for 115 guests on average.
The four countries that spend more than $10,000 but less than $20,000 on average are Uruguay ($15,000; 115 guests), Portugal ($17,000; 112 guests), France ($19,000; 97 guests) and Canada ($19,000; 89 guests), according to The Knot.
People in five countries reportedly spend less than $10,000 for weddings on average, including Argentina ($4,000; 106 guests), Colombia ($5,000; 76 guests), Mexico ($8,000; 145 guests), Brazil ($9,000; 125 guests) and Chile ($9,000; 89 guests).
While some couples like to take on DIY projects to save money on wedding celebrations, there are five wedding vendor categories Americans aren’t skimping on for the big day, according to The Knot.
Ninety-three percent of American couples are buying or renting a new wedding dress for the bride.
Photography is the next most "hired" wedding vendor category in the U.S., with 88% of couples hiring a professional photographer on the big day.
The groom’s attire is the third high-priority wedding vendor for most American couples, with 87% buying or renting a new outfit for the groom.
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Catering and cake rounded out the top five, with 86% and 79% of American couples choosing to hire professional food preparers and bakers, respectively.
It's taking American couples 15-16 months to plan weddings on average, The Knot found.
Couples in the U.K. are taking just as long to plan their weddings, while French couples are taking 13-14 months to plan their weddings on average, according to The Knot.
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Spain, Portugal, Italy and Brazil are four countries in which couples reportedly take 11 to 12 months to plan a wedding.
Engaged couples in Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay reportedly take eight to 10 months to plan a wedding while engaged couples in Colombia and Peru reportedly take six to seven months.
India has the shortest average planning timeline, which takes between five and six months, according to The Knot.
October is the most popular time to plan weddings in the U.S., with one-in-five American weddings (20%) happening in the 10th month of the year, The Knot reported.
Outside the U.S., the most popular month to get married varies from August, September, November, December and February, according to the counties The Knot surveyed.
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November was the most common wedding month in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico.
August: Canada (20%) and the U.K. (15%)
September: Spain (18%), Italy (24%) and Portugal (18%)
October: The U.S. (20%)
November: Argentina (20%), Brazil (12%), Chile (18%) and Mexico (18%)
December: Colombia (17%), India (32%) and Peru (16%)
February: Uruguay (18%)
Americans appear to be split between banquet halls and barns when booking wedding reception venues, according to The Knot.
Both options tied with 20% of American couples choosing a banquet hall or barn for post-ceremony celebrations.
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The Knot’s global wedding report found that gardens, villas and hotels were more commonly selected as reception venues by couples who live outside the U.S.
(First dance vs. cake cutting vs. bouquet toss)
American couples seem to like some wedding traditions more than others, according to The Knot.
Eighty-nine percent of newlyweds had a first dance, while 74% of newlyweds participated in a cake cutting.
Less than four-in-10 newlyweds (37%) had a bouquet toss at their wedding.
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You can read The Knot’s full 2023 Global Wedding report at: theknot.com/content/wedding-data-insights/global-wedding-report.
