A wedding or a mortgage? Engaged couples say it's a challenging decision
Engaged couple Taylor Glancey and Mary Whittington. With the cost of weddings skyrocketing these days, couples are feeling priced out, having to choose between celebrating their marriage with friends and family or buying a house. May 17, 2023 (Photo Courtesy: Glancey and Whittington)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — It's no secret- the cost of a wedding these days is skyrocketing!
Some couples feel priced out, having to choose between having a wedding and buying a house.
Mary Whittington and Taylor Glancey's love story began almost four years ago.
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"We went to the same high school," said Glancey. "She was a year younger, but we never talked in high school, and then just happened to meet on one of the dating apps (a few years later)."
They got engaged last September.
"The wedding is New Year’s Eve of 2024 going into 2025," said Whittington.
With the help of wedding planner Holly Williams, who owns Lavender Haze Wedding Company, they're planning their dream wedding.
The cost? Not so dreamy.
"The average wedding I would say is about $50,000," said Williams.
"When we saw those numbers that we were working with that gave us sticker shock," said bride-to-be Whittington. "I was not expecting that as much either."
Williams said the venue is the biggest cost, followed by catering, music, and a photographer/videographer.
She said prices have jumped in recent years.
"In some places, it can be anything from $500-$1000 of a jump with pricing," said Williams, the wedding planner.
Glancey and Whittington had also hoped to buy a home.
"I remember looking at him one day saying, 'Do you want a big wedding? Or do you want a big house?' Because we can’t do both," said Whittington.
Williams said it's a common struggle: marriage or mortgage?
She said that's where her expertise as a wedding planner comes in.
"I will help them keep their budget down in certain areas or cut corners in certain areas like decor, or DIY certain things," she said.
With some clever cutting, the couple found enough for a down payment on a house.
"We kind of went a little smaller than we wanted for the house," said Whittington, "but it’s just us two and we have two dogs which are mini weiner dogs, so they don’t need a ton of space either."
And, she said, waiting to get married until late next year, gives them even more time to save for the wedding.
