2016’s Best & Worst Wedding Friendly Destinations

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2016’s Best & Worst Wedding Friendly Destinations by Richie Bernardo, WalletHub

Anyone who’s ever organized a wedding knows all too well how demanding and protracted the process can be. It’s the reason couples hire professional event planners to do the heavy lifting — and also why the term “bridezilla” became a permanent entry in the wedding glossary.

Between sending invitations, securing reservations, planning a menu and obsessing over final touches on the cake, it’s no wonder the big day is arranged months, even years, in advance — and deservingly so. Tying the knot is a huge commitment, after all, and the $60 billion wedding industry ain’t one to complain.

At WalletHub, we understand the logistical and financial stresses of that typically long march to “I do.” So in order to lubricate the planning process, our number crunchers compared the 150 biggest cities to find the cheapest and most convenient wedding destinations that also promise a memorable occasion. We took into account 18 key indicators of nuptial friendliness, ranging from average wedding cost to number of venues and event spaces per capita to availability of hotels. Scroll down for the winners, meaningful advice from wedding and marriage experts, and our detailed methodology.

Source: WalletHub

To help couples find the most wedding friendly destinations, WalletHub’s analysts compared 150 of the biggest cities across 18 key indicators of a cost-effective, convenient and enjoyable occasion. Our data set ranges from average wedding cost to number of venues and event spaces per capita to availability of hotels.

Comparing Best & Worst Wedding Friendly Destinations

  • The average wedding cost is highest in San Francisco, Calif., which is two times greater than in Springfield, Mo., the city with the lowest.
  • The number of venues and event spaces per capita is highest in Orlando, Fla., which is 84 times greater than in Cape Coral, Fla., the city with the lowest.
  • The number of event planners per capita is highest in Washington, which is 14 times greater than in Stockton, Calif., the city with the lowest.

Best & Worst Wedding Friendly Destinations

  • The number of photographers per capita is highest in San Francisco, which is 39 times greater than in Newark, N.J., the city with the lowest.
  • The number of musicians per capita is highest in San Francisco, which is 104 times greater than in El Paso, Texas, the city with the lowest.
  • The number of bridal shops per capita is highest in Salt Lake City, which is 31 times greater than in Detroit, the city with the lowest.
  • The number of flower shops per capita is highest in Miami, which is 14 times greater than in North Las Vegas, Nev., the city with the lowest.

Best & Worst Wedding Friendly Destinations

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