Brides and grooms, beware of higher "wedding pricing"
Weddings tend to be expensive affairs, but here's one reason why costs can spiral out of control: Vendors sometimes jack up their prices and add hidden fees and unexpected costs.
About one out of four vendors raise their prices when they learn the event is a wedding, rather than an anniversary party, according to Consumer Reports, which sent out secret shoppers in five metropolitan areas to gather prices. The publication collected information for 40 vendors in a dozen states, which it noted isn't enough to paint the entire wedding industry as prone to the practice but should raise red flags with brides, grooms and their families.
Consumer Reports discovered that hidden fees, such as caterers' per-person cake-cutting fees, can be as high as $7 per person. And some hotels add service charges that can make costs add up quickly.
The bottom line, according to financial experts, is that consumers should be aware of these practices and take steps to protect themselves, such as shopping around, negotiating and thoroughly reading the fine print. After all, a lot of money is at stake, given that the average wedding costs about $31,000.
"It's true: Often prices are inflated once the vendor finds out the event is a wedding," said Courtney Jesperson, a retail expert at the financial site NerdWallet. "From the vendor perspective, they often say because a wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, brides and grooms tend to be extremely demanding, which requires more attention to detail and extra work when planning."
She added, "As a consumer, however, this just doesn't seem fair. To avoid the extra expense, we advise staying away from pricey wedding packages and making selections, like flowers and food, on an individual basis."
Beyond that, she said, don't be afraid to haggle or ask questions. Friends and family members who have tied the knot can be a great source of information about unexpected costs and fees that they encountered, which can help future brides and grooms avoid similar pitfalls.
Before meeting with caterers and other wedding vendors, couples should set a budget. One place to start is with an online wedding cost calculator. Some ideas for keeping costs low include picking a buffet meal instead of a served meal, holding your wedding on a Sunday and trimming down the guest list.
"In the end, a wedding is just one day, so it's not something that's worth going into long-term debt over," Jesperson said. "Another place to start is seeing how much money you have in savings already and create your budget based on that figure."
Some families turn to loans to help pay for the wedding day, which NerdWallet advises against. Consumer Reports National Research Center found that about 11 percent of couples relied on loans to pay for their weddings, while 41 percent drew on their savings. About 9 percent of people younger than 50 said they withdrew money from a retirement account, which not only hurts a couple's retirement prospects but adds the pain of an early withdrawal penalty.
"If you find that you don't have the funds to pay for your wedding, you should either reduce your costs by trimming your budget or postpone your wedding until you have enough money," Jesperson said. "After all, if you take out a personal loan, you'll end up paying interest on it, and you don't want to start off your marriage in the hole."