Adam McCann, Financial Writer

Jan 29, 2020

Anyone who’s ever organized a wedding knows all too well how difficult and time-consuming the process can be. It’s the reason many couples hire professional event planners to do the heavy lifting. And the cost only adds more stress, with the average couple shelling out over $38,000 for their big day.

Between sending invitations, securing reservations, planning a menu and obsessing over final touches on the cake, it’s no wonder weddings are arranged months, even years, in advance. Tying the knot is a huge commitment, and the $78 billion wedding industry is growing.

At WalletHub, we understand the logistical and financial stresses of that typically long march to “I do.” So in order to assist with the planning process, we compared more than 180 U.S. cities to find the cheapest and most convenient wedding destinations that also promise a memorable day. We examined each city across 27 key indicators of wedding-friendliness, ranging from average wedding cost to venues and event spaces per capita to hotel availability. Read on for the results, insight from a panel of experts, and a full description of our methodology.

Main Findings

Best Places to Get Married in the U.S.

Overall Rank

(1=Best) City Total Score ‘Costs’ Rank ‘Facilities & Services’ Rank ‘Activities & Attractions’ Rank 1 Orlando, FL 72.15 24 2 7 2 Las Vegas, NV 67.22 77 5 2 3 El Paso, TX 65.15 1 118 55 4 Atlanta, GA 64.32 54 7 13 5 Miami, FL 60.53 98 3 9 6 Tampa, FL 59.76 53 16 12 7 Tulsa, OK 59.76 3 96 49 8 Boise, ID 57.77 6 91 50 9 Las Cruces, NM 57.65 2 163 92 10 Austin, TX 57.38 69 10 20 11 Mobile, AL 56.31 4 107 97 12 Tucson, AZ 56.29 37 64 16 13 Birmingham, AL 56.20 8 57 86 14 Albuquerque, NM 55.98 27 66 28 15 New Orleans, LA 55.89 64 36 11 16 Cincinnati, OH 55.73 42 29 33 17 Los Angeles, CA 55.46 156 4 1 18 Chattanooga, TN 55.37 7 82 95 19 Scottsdale, AZ 55.31 66 31 17 20 Oklahoma City, OK 55.19 25 72 37 21 Knoxville, TN 54.95 17 67 67 22 Portland, OR 54.92 94 12 14 23 Chicago, IL 54.69 124 9 5 24 San Diego, CA 54.63 132 8 6 25 Dallas, TX 53.99 70 23 29 26 Columbia, SC 53.74 33 46 62 27 St. Louis, MO 53.59 72 21 30 28 Houston, TX 53.55 100 11 21 29 Salt Lake City, UT 53.41 75 18 40 30 Springfield, MO 53.28 12 108 88 31 San Antonio, TX 53.25 71 33 25 32 Fort Lauderdale, FL 53.13 88 22 26 33 San Francisco, CA 53.00 159 1 4 34 Columbus, OH 52.83 47 53 34 35 Tempe, AZ 52.52 59 42 36 36 Denver, CO 52.50 104 15 23 37 Laredo, TX 52.40 5 179 120 38 Greensboro, NC 52.35 11 104 102 39 Charlotte, NC 52.24 56 39 48 40 Memphis, TN 51.85 20 97 81 41 Phoenix, AZ 51.80 73 55 24 42 Grand Rapids, MI 51.70 29 62 82 43 Charleston, SC 51.61 102 27 19 44 Nashville, TN 51.41 74 35 31 45 Rapid City, SD 51.34 15 126 96 46 Mesa, AZ 50.88 35 99 64 47 Omaha, NE 50.73 43 88 60 48 Wichita, KS 50.59 18 112 113 49 Shreveport, LA 50.39 9 158 140 50 New York, NY 50.28 165 6 3 51 Gilbert, AZ 50.13 16 128 107 52 Brownsville, TX 50.04 10 180 167 53 Seattle, WA 49.97 129 13 10 54 Lubbock, TX 49.90 28 109 110 55 Colorado Springs, CO 49.87 67 58 43 56 Spokane, WA 49.64 48 87 74 57 Pittsburgh, PA 49.60 96 26 42 58 Louisville, KY 49.25 62 79 56 59 Billings, MT 49.17 30 111 93 60 Gulfport, MS 49.15 14 177 122 61 Kansas City, MO 48.96 63 80 59 62 Baton Rouge, LA 48.94 49 70 84 63 Raleigh, NC 48.93 81 45 54 64 Fort Worth, TX 48.92 80 63 35 65 Chandler, AZ 48.86 39 114 72 66 Fort Smith, AR 48.84 19 175 138 67 St. Petersburg, FL 48.71 61 95 51 68 Amarillo, TX 48.66 36 160 69 69 Fayetteville, NC 48.62 22 125 126 70 Charleston, WV 48.58 13 148 165 71 Lexington-Fayette, KY 48.54 41 133 78 72 Augusta, GA 48.15 26 145 125 73 Cleveland, OH 48.14 79 50 61 74 Corpus Christi, TX 48.10 40 132 99 75 Indianapolis, IN 48.05 84 56 47 76 Jacksonville, FL 47.27 83 78 45 77 Fort Wayne, IN 47.14 23 124 149 78 Little Rock, AR 47.02 38 115 123 79 Montgomery, AL 46.74 31 154 142 80 Jackson, MS 46.67 32 155 150 81 Richmond, VA 46.57 108 34 53 82 Lincoln, NE 46.54 65 130 75 83 Glendale, AZ 46.21 46 146 94 84 Huntington, WV 46.15 21 178 159 85 Madison, WI 46.03 68 102 79 86 Minneapolis, MN 45.96 114 44 39 87 Plano, TX 45.86 78 75 85 88 Reno, NV 45.84 113 48 41 89 Toledo, OH 45.42 34 159 145 90 Fresno, CA 45.39 90 68 66 91 Fargo, ND 45.29 50 139 139 92 Detroit, MI 45.28 86 101 68 93 Overland Park, KS 45.23 51 121 119 94 Columbus, GA 44.85 44 167 151 95 Cedar Rapids, IA 44.75 45 137 147 96 Sacramento, CA 44.62 152 14 22 97 Akron, OH 44.25 55 119 148 98 Bismarck, ND 44.10 52 150 155 99 Missoula, MT 44.06 82 92 104 100 Winston-Salem, NC 44.03 58 136 124 101 Henderson, NV 43.93 95 110 58 102 Bakersfield, CA 43.79 112 71 52 103 Huntsville, AL 43.62 76 134 98 104 Durham, NC 42.53 92 93 105 105 Arlington, TX 42.45 101 113 73 106 Sioux Falls, SD 42.19 89 141 112 107 Cape Coral, FL 41.94 60 176 101 108 Rochester, NY 41.77 119 51 76 109 Tallahassee, FL 41.70 106 85 90 110 Des Moines, IA 41.52 93 123 114 111 Vancouver, WA 41.39 109 61 109 112 Long Beach, CA 41.39 141 32 38 113 North Las Vegas, NV 41.17 105 41 117 114 Buffalo, NY 41.10 118 73 80 115 Washington, DC 40.84 160 20 18 116 Modesto, CA 40.81 116 81 83 117 Anaheim, CA 40.77 147 30 32 118 Honolulu, HI 40.61 172 17 8 119 Casper, WY 40.19 97 144 136 120 Salem, OR 40.06 91 142 134 121 Nampa, ID 40.01 57 181 169 122 San Jose, CA 39.98 154 24 44 123 Garland, TX 39.92 85 151 146 124 Irving, TX 39.91 99 106 127 125 Virginia Beach, VA 38.93 130 76 71 126 Hialeah, FL 38.79 111 94 132 127 Irvine, CA 38.56 136 43 77 128 Port St. Lucie, FL 38.48 87 172 171 129 Philadelphia, PA 38.28 161 40 15 130 Portland, ME 38.23 133 83 65 131 Milwaukee, WI 38.22 140 69 46 132 Aurora, CO 38.21 115 98 129 133 Norfolk, VA 38.08 110 147 111 134 Huntington Beach, CA 37.77 146 38 70 135 Glendale, CA 37.56 144 28 100 136 Cheyenne, WY 37.30 103 171 164 137 St. Paul, MN 36.65 128 90 103 138 Riverside, CA 36.55 143 49 87 139 Santa Ana, CA 36.00 145 47 91 140 Newport News, VA 35.61 117 165 143 141 Garden Grove, CA 35.52 139 77 89 142 Chesapeake, VA 35.39 125 153 118 143 Ontario, CA 35.13 126 103 137 144 Pembroke Pines, FL 34.81 122 127 160 145 West Valley City, UT 34.78 107 173 157 146 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 34.74 127 86 163 147 Peoria, AZ 34.74 123 166 135 148 Baltimore, MD 34.35 157 54 57 149 Anchorage, AK 34.32 131 135 106 150 Oakland, CA 34.19 167 25 63 151 San Bernardino, CA 33.14 138 120 116 152 Grand Prairie, TX 32.41 121 170 156 153 Fontana, CA 32.06 134 129 158 154 Boston, MA 31.67 177 37 27 155 Tacoma, WA 31.55 150 84 144 156 Oceanside, CA 31.55 153 100 121 157 Stockton, CA 31.33 142 140 128 158 Dover, DE 31.33 120 169 179 159 Chula Vista, CA 30.18 151 89 161 160 Aurora, IL 30.06 135 138 176 161 Columbia, MD 29.46 155 117 130 162 Lewiston, ME 29.23 137 182 174 163 Wilmington, DE 28.43 164 52 131 164 New Haven, CT 28.00 149 161 172 165 Santa Rosa, CA 27.88 171 59 115 166 Moreno Valley, CA 27.62 148 157 168 167 Burlington, VT 26.27 158 143 162 168 Santa Clarita, CA 26.05 168 74 152 169 Fremont, CA 25.64 169 65 166 170 Providence, RI 25.33 166 131 141 171 Jersey City, NJ 25.25 176 60 108 172 Newark, NJ 24.68 173 105 133 173 Manchester, NH 23.76 170 152 153 174 Nashua, NH 23.41 163 156 170 175 Oxnard, CA 21.88 175 149 154 176 South Burlington, VT 21.41 162 122 181 177 Yonkers, NY 20.47 181 19 182 178 Worcester, MA 19.04 174 162 178 179 Juneau, AK 18.47 179 168 173 180 Warwick, RI 17.86 178 116 180 181 Bridgeport, CT 16.53 180 174 177 182 Pearl City, HI 7.89 182 164 175

Ask the Experts

Marriage is not only a big life decision, but it also can be a hefty financial commitment, because how much money you have usually determines the extravagance and location of the wedding. But some couples have far fewer resources to spend on their special day. For advice on such matters and how to boost the local economy through the wedding business, we turned to a panel of experts in family studies, personal finance and local administration. Click on the experts’ profiles to read their bios and thoughts on the following key questions:

What factors should couples consider when setting a budget for their wedding? How should a couple decide where to get married? What tips do you have for a couple planning a wedding and hoping to stay on budget? Weddings can often be an economic boost to local businesses. What can local authorities do to encourage weddings in their communities?

Methodology

In order to identify the best and worst cities in which to tie the knot, WalletHub compared 182 cities — including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state — across three key dimensions: 1) Costs, 2) Facilities & Services and 3) Activities & Attractions.

We examined those dimensions using 27 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for weddings. For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), we used the square root of the population to calculate the population size in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across cities.

We then determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Costs – Total Points: 60

Average Wedding Cost: Triple Weight (~30.00 Points)

Price of a Three-Star Hotel Room: Full Weight (~10.00 Points)

Restaurant-Meal Costs: Full Weight (~10.00 Points)

Note: “Restaurant Meal” refers to a three-course meal for two.

Prevalence of Affordable Wedding Logistics: Full Weight (~10.00 Points)

Note: This metric measures the prevalence of affordable restaurants and wedding venues with ratings of at least 4.5 stars.

Facilities & Services – Total Points: 20

Wedding Chapels & Churches per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Venues & Event Spaces per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Party-Equipment Rentals per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Photo Booth Rentals per Capita*: Half Weight (~0.57 Points)

Event Planners per Capita: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Videographers & Photographers per Capita: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Musicians & DJs per Capita: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Makeup Artists & Hair Salons per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Bridal Shops per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Flower & Gift Shops per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Limousine Rentals per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Hotels per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Restaurants & Bars per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Catering Companies per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Bartenders per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Floral Designers per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Cake Shops per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Wedding/Bridal Fairs*: Full Weight (~1.14 Points)

Activities & Attractions – Total Points: 20



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Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wedding Report, Kayak.com, Numbeo, TripAdvisor, Travbuddy.com, Yelp, Eventbrite and WalletHub research.

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