US 'Small Wedding' Trend Spreads
Costs Increase by $5,000 Compared to a Year Ago
The so-called ‘small wedding’ trend, which involves reducing the number of guests, is spreading in the United States. This phenomenon has emerged as wedding costs have risen sharply due to inflation.
On the 6th (local time), CNBC cited the 2023 report from the U.S. wedding company Knot, reporting that the average cost of weddings and receptions in the U.S. last year was $35,000 (about 48 million KRW). This is an increase of about 16.7% compared to the previous year, rising by $5,000 (about 6.9 million KRW).
Couples preparing for marriage have reduced the number of guests as wedding costs have increased. Previously, the number of wedding guests in the U.S. had been steadily decreasing. Shane McMurray, co-founder and CEO of The Wedding Report, said, “The average number of guests is on a downward trend. It slightly increased to 124 in 2021, but that was because people had a strong desire to meet after lockdown measures,” adding, “Since wedding costs have risen significantly, the scale of weddings will shrink.”
According to The Wedding Report, weddings with 25 to 50 guests accounted for 15% of the total last year, and weddings with fewer than 25 guests accounted for about 2%. These figures have increased compared to previous years.
Meanwhile, in South Korea, as prices rise and wedding styles diversify, more people are concerned about the amount of congratulatory money (chug-ui-geum). Online debates about the ‘chug-ui-geum culture’ continue, and recently, there has been a claim that it is more polite not to attend if one plans to give less than the meal cost as congratulatory money.
The average cost of a wedding ceremony at wedding halls in Seoul is around 80,000 KRW, while at hotel wedding halls, the meal cost alone ranges from 130,000 to 200,000 KRW. Adding hall rental fees and flower costs, a single wedding can cost tens of millions of KRW. The increase in ceremony costs has become a burden for guests. In the past, it was common to cover congratulatory money with 30,000 to 50,000 KRW, but recently, the perception has shifted to ‘100,000 KRW if attending, 50,000 KRW if not.’
A survey conducted by Shinhan Bank via email from October to November last year targeting 10,000 economically active people aged 20 to 64 nationwide showed that 52.8% of respondents said they would give 50,000 KRW as congratulatory money if they did not attend a friend’s wedding. This was the highest percentage. Following that, 36.7% said they would give 100,000 KRW, and 3.3% said 200,000 KRW.
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