Weddings are joyous occasions, but they're also infamous for their high stress levels and high price tags. As a professional bridesmaid, I’ve witnessed the fallout from both. I’ve talked brides out of middle-of-the-night anxiety attacks during which they admitted that funding their big day would set them into debt for the next five years. I’ve gone with a bride to the bank and patted her back as she tearfully begged for a loan to help pay the $15,000 it would cost to hire a band for her reception. One time, I even had a father of the bride whisper in my ear during the cake-tasting that he secretly took a weekend job working at the local grocery store to avoid having to drain his entire retirement fund to pay for his daughter’s dream wedding.
According to The Knot's annual Real Weddings Study, the average cost of a wedding in the United States is $32,641. Why are people so willing to rack up a bill that high for a party that lasts a few hours, or a weekend at most? How do we say yes to an $8,000 dress, or hand over our credit cards for a $2,500 tiered chocolate-mousse cake?
Maybe it’s time to take a step back. To help put things in perspective, we've compiled a list of eight other ways you could spend your $32,641 if you didn't have a traditional wedding.
If you ever daydreamed about waving goodbye to that stuffy cubicle and 9-to-5 job, consider this: For about $30,000, you could buy a franchise and become your own boss. Whether you want to be the owner of a home-cleaning business, a fast-food storefront, or even a travel agency, you can invest in yourself and your future cash flow. Sure, you may find yourself on your toes all day, or behind a giant computer screen, managing handfuls of employees and spreadsheets at the same time — but that may still be easier than planning a wedding, and it's a much better long-term investment than one party.
Illustrated by Elliot Salazar.
Drive away in a brand-new 2016 Honda CR-V, a Toyota RAV4, or go the antique route with a 1970 Ford Mustang. Either way, you can score a set of wheels that's right for you — without worrying about monthly lease payments on a ride you’ll have to hand back in 36 months. Plus, with your own car comes the freedom to take on the open road, whenever you want. You could even use it to elope!
Illustrated by Elliot Salazar.
Going back to school is great. Not so great? Going further into debt to pay for a graduate degree through money-sucking student loans. For around $30,000, you could pay for two years of grad school. That way, when you graduate and get a high-powered, decent-paying job at the company of your dreams, you won’t have to slice off a piece of your well-earned paycheck and send it over to the government every single month.
Illustrated by Elliot Salazar.
Traveling is something you know will rattle your savings account, which is one reason your bucket list just keeps getting longer. But what if you could trade in your five minutes of walking-down-the-aisle fame, rent out your home, and skip town for a year?
Spending extended time in a foreign country is a memorable way to splurge with the money you would have spent on a fancy wedding. It may not be enough to stay in five-star hotels and dine out every single night, but you could still see a lot of the world with that budget. And just think of the amazing honeymoon stories.
Illustrated by Elliot Salazar.
Wondering what the heck you’d do with so many iPads? It's true, your eyeballs and your noggin can only focus on watching Netflix, playing Candy Crush, and scrolling through Instagram on so many screens at once. But just to put in perspective how much $32,641 really is, consider that you could buy 80 iPad Air 2s with that amount of cash.
Donate them to a local school or an educational charity and call it an act of philanthropy, or just think of it as the ultimate tax write-off. Either way, you’ll go to sleep a little better each night knowing you did your part to change the world — at least until the next version of the iPad is released, and renders this one a hilariously antiquated joke.
Illustrated by Elliot Salazar.
Whether you already live in the Big Apple or just want to spend some time there, your wedding fund could cover rent on a decent apartment in NYC for about a year. That means any income you earn on top of that could go toward savings, Broadways shows, dinners out, and ALL the Uber rides. Plus, you'll probably still have some funds left over for shopping or weekend trips.
Illustrated by Elliot Salazar.
Buying a head-turning piece of art can bring you a lot more joy than traditional investments (like putting your money into a mutual fund you can't touch for 40 years). Not only will a statement piece look great in your home, but if you decide to sell it down the road, you could wind up making double or triple what you paid for it.
Illustrated by Elliot Salazar.
Owning a home is an integral part of the American dream, but it's become increasingly difficult for millennials to make that dream a reality. Consider that if you skipped that expensive wedding, you would finally have the cash to put a down payment on your own home, which is a pretty perfect way to start your new life together. Real estate also tends to be a solid investment — and it sure beats throwing away your money on rent year after year.
Illustrated by Elliot Salazar.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
McDonald's Just Opened A Restaurant That Only Serves Fries