(Newswire.net — August 28, 2018) –The Saturday in the third week of August is considered the most popular day for weddings, according to data released by wedding planning website, the Knot. According to the Knot’s report, 28,633 weddings are scheduled for August 18 in the U.S. “A lot of couples picked it for the significance of the date, it’s a palindrome month—8-1-8-1-8,” explains Ivy Jacobson, senior editor at the Knot.
Wedding planning and registry site Zola concurs that this Saturday towards the end of August is the hottest day for couples to get married. Zola looked at the data of 500,000 users on its site. It seems that the end of summer date is seen as the ideal time to hold a wedding, largely because of weather factors.
Of course, with weddings come expenses, not only for the bride and groom but also for the invited guests. With an average of 136 guests in attendance at each wedding celebration, that translates to about 3.9 million guests who will, on average, dish out $261 on the event, including the gift, attire, and accessories, adding up to a $1 billion weekend, not even including travel expenses.
A national survey released in March by Bankrate.com revealed that with travel costs taken into consideration, the average spending by a guest attending a wedding is $728. In locations in the northeast, the number was much higher by over three hundred dollars. Members of the wedding party spent significantly more as well.
The purchase of the gift for the new couple plays a significant role in the total expense. With so many weddings scheduled on one calendar day, invited guests are estimated to spend over one billion dollars in gifts alone for the newlyweds. Members of the wedding party spend more than average guests, with bridesmaids and groomsmen spending approximately $107 on the gift while wedding guests spend $88. According to the Knot’s data, thirty four percent of guests choose to buy items from the couples’ registries, 29 percent give a monetary gift, and 10 percent choose to give gift cards.
According to the Knot’s data, five of the most popular gifts for brides and grooms to receive include a KitchenAid stand mixer, Ninja blender, Dyson vacuum, iRobot Roomba, and an air fryer. Other more innovative gift ideas include gift baskets, a luxury throw, wine flutes, or a customized chess set or other game, a tiered cake stand or silk robes.
For couples who opt to get married on an alternative date, Saturdays in the months of June, September and October are also popular times for couples to tie the knot.