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Less spent on THE DAY can mean much more for days ahead.
By Katie McKy
I recently attended a wedding where the bride and groom traveled in a royal-looking
carriage pulled by two white horses with glittering harnesses. It took them to a wedding venue
overlooking Lake Geneva. A band? Of course. Catered? Naturally. The cake? It looked like it
was decorated by the Fabergé egg folks. The décor? Pretty enough to make Martha Stewart say,
“It’s a good thing.” Photographers? Two.
A week later, after their honeymoon which cost thousands more, they tromped up four
flights of stairs to their apartment in an iffy neighborhood, where rents rose and rose. Sure, they
had photographs, but with some wedding frugality, they could be well down the road to
homeownership.
The Knot 2021 Real Weddings Study found that the average cost of an American
wedding is $28,000. Considering that the average cost of a home in Wisconsin is $236,551, the
average cost of an American wedding is 11.8% of the cost of an average home, or 59% of a
standard down payment. Consider, too, that according to rent.com, Wisconsin rents have been
rising about 8.5% annually. Contrast that with a monthly mortgage, which never increases and
eventually disappears, leaving you with a heap of equity and a home that you’ve been free to
tailor to fit you.
Rather than shovel heaps of money into a single day, use that money to improve
thousands of days. This will require, of course, some cuts on your wedding day, so where to
begin? The Knot says that 30% of the cost of a typical American wedding goes to the venue. My
sister held her wedding reception in my father’s backyard. If it had rained, the barn was ready. Its
old floorboards had been swept and the rafters were gussied with crepe paper streamers and
lights. Lighting and décor are 5% of the typical cost of a $28,000 wedding. About $10 was spent
on the barn’s streamers and the rafter lights were old Christmas lights. The barn was used mostly
for the food, as my sister got lucky and it was sunny– perfect for the volleyball net my father had
raised. The food was donated by immediate family, potluck-style. Music, averaging 13% of the
cost of a typical wedding, came from a boombox.
Off to the side, the parents on both sides gave the bride and groom two checks for
$10,000 each, a near down payment for their first home, which they bought for $126,000. At
their new home, they planted various apple trees, Asian pear trees, European plum trees, and
black and red raspberry bushes, which will grow and grow and bear fruit. They have chickens,
too. Their monthly mortgage payment is $729, about the cost of a studio apartment in Eau Claire.
“It’s heaven,” my sister says.
Now, if you don’t have a relative with a big backyard and barn, there are alternatives that
cost less than many wedding venues but are still comely. One is churches. Many have adjacent,
affordable halls for receptions.
Colleges or universities are another possibility; many accommodate weddings. UW-EC,
on the banks of the glittering Chippewa River, plants thousands of annuals each spring. Stroll in
the shade between its towering trees, with the handsome campus buildings as backdrops.
Speaking of trees and the Chippewa River, Owen Park in Eau Claire has both. It also has
a bandshell for the wedding itself. The cost is stunningly cheap: $17.00 an hour M-F and $22.00
an hour for weekends with a two-hour minimum. Of course, Owen is one of many parks.
Phoenix Park has an amphitheater with the river flowing behind it. There’s also Riverview, Mt.
Simon, and Carson, all with pavilions. These are just the Community Parks. There are also 19
Neighborhood Parks, like McDonough, Sam Davey, and Putnam Heights. All the Neighborhood
Parks rent for $17.00 an hour throughout the week. Reservations can be made online at
eauclairewi.gov/recreation/parks-pavilions-shelters.
Chippewa Falls rents the beautiful band shell in Irvine Park for $300 from 9 a.m. to 9
p.m. There is electricity and seating for up to 150 people. It abuts a zoo, hiking trails, and
playgrounds, which provide fun for all. Menomonie has wedding venue rental options at
Elmwood Park, Fowler's Court, Lakeside Park, and many more. In short, you don’t have to drop
$9,000 for a beautiful wedding venue.
Another way to tap UW-EC to save on wedding costs is to hire student photographers and
musicians. Call the university’s respective departments to explore hiring possibilities. It’s a win-
win, since it gives the young artists an opportunity to hone their craft before an audience and it
lets you trim costs.
You can cut the smaller costs, too. You can find wedding invitation templates at Etsy and
print your own with high grade paper that can be purchased at Amazon, The Paper Mill Store, or
minted.com. Many bridal shops sell pre-owned wedding dresses, as do websites like Still White
and Nearly Newlywed. With a little foresight, you can grow your own cut flowers for twenty
bucks. Marigolds, daisies, zinnias, and nasturtiums are all easy to grow and produce bountiful
blooms. Instead of spending $540 on a cake, which is the average cost of a wedding cake, buy
two flat cakes from a grocery store, stack them for tiering, and decorate them with flowers.
Owning a home used to be a given for married couples, but rising interest rates and rising
home prices have kept many young newlyweds out of the market. Well, with some frugality and
creativity, you can still have a lovely wedding at a beautiful place…and a home, too, with the
money saved.
