How much do weddings cost? This one in Las Vegas is just $15
What does a $15 wedding get you? A ceremony, photos, flowers and a live broadcast from a Las Vegas chapel so your friends and family can watch from home
They say love doesn't cost a thing.
But that certainly isn't true of weddings.
In 2022,couples in the United States spent, on average, nearly $30,000 to get married, according to a report from the wedding website The Knot.
But it wasn't always this way. In the 1950s, the "Complete Guide to Wedding Etiquette" advised couples to earmark £30 ($38, or $482 when adjusted for inflation) for a reception that included the price of alcohol, according to the BBC.
In fact, it's possible to tie the knot for even less today.
What a $15 wedding gets you
A Las Vegas venue, called the Chapel of the Flowers, is charging just $15 for awedding package that includes:
- An on-site ceremony
- A 10-minute photoshoot and five 4x6 photographs
- A wedding bouquet and boutonniere
- A live broadcast of the ceremony
The package price — which is normally $500 — is what couples paid to get married in the chapel in 1953, said Cynthia Sharpe, the venue's director of storytelling.
A picture taken in 1953 of a sign outside the Chapel of the Flowers promoting its $15 wedding packages.Source: The Chapel of Flowers"Chapel of the Flowers wants to give back and thank all of the amazing couples who have been a part of making Las Vegas the Wedding Capital of the World," she said, referencing the city's trademarked name.
The discounted wedding package is part of a celebration commemorating 70 years since Las Vegas was first given that moniker, according to a campaign promoting Las Vegas as the "Wedding Capital of the World."
The package is available to 70 couples on a first-come-first-serve basis, and does not include the minister's fee, which is $70. As of today, all packages are still available, Sharpe told CNBC.
According to the U.S. News & World Report, Nevada had the highest marriage rate in the U.S. in 2021. Couples can obtain a license and get married in the same day.
Other inexpensive options
Other venues in Las Vegas are also discounting wedding packages, according to the campaign.
Couples can have an Elvis-themed wedding at The Little Neon Chapel for $470 until Sept. 30, which comes with anordained minister dressed as Elvis, photos and room for 10 guests.
An Elvis impersonator performs a remote vow renewal ceremony during the pandemic at Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada.Ethan Miller | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesFor $700, couples can exchange vows 900 feet above the city's famous Strip atop The Strat Hotel, Casino & Tower, the tallest structure in Las Vegas. The package, which comes with a Champagne toast for the couple and 15 guests, is available through Dec. 30.
The danger of wedding debt
A 2019 report by the financial services company LendingTree estimates 45% of newlyweds incur debt to pay for their weddings.
Furthermore, nearly half of those with wedding debt said money issues led them to consider divorce, according to the survey. Only 9% of couples without wedding debt said the same, the report showed.
Source: LendingTreeThe survey also asked which wedding expense they deemed the most "worth it." The most popular response didn't concern the wedding at all — it was the honeymoon.
LendingTree's survey included 506 Americans, aged 18 to 53, that had been married in the previous two years.
This story originally appeared on: CNBC - Author:Quek Jie Ann
