From the "Things You Really Ought to Know Before You Start" file:
The average American wedding costs about $20,000. Most of that is spent on the reception.
Twenty grand is a great down payment on a house. It almost will cover the cost of a midsize sedan with several options.
Twenty grand is a little less than many new college graduates' starting salary. An adventurous young couple can have a whale of a weekend in Vegas with $20,000 -- just don't ask us how to convince the people who wanted to pay for the wedding to give it to you.
Twenty thousand dollars is a lot of money. As Paulie Walnuts on "The Sopranos" would say, you've been told.
Do you still want the fancy dream wedding or would you rather dream up all sorts of ways to spend that money while you and your beloved take the 20-minute drive to the Wayne County Building to get a marriage license and say "I do" on the spot?
Just making sure.
Weddings cost more and more each year, but the rite still remains one of the most celebrated in American society. It's a family gathering, it's a passage into a new life, it's a day many people remember for the rest of their lives.
All the same, if you can cut costs …
Who are we kidding? It's your wedding -- have all the fun you want.
We've prepared this special guide to cover all sorts of steps in the planning process, everything from buying rings to reserving a reception site to points of etiquette. We hope it helps.
A good deal of this information also is available online. Just visit
As we update this publication, we'd love to hear from you. How did your wedding turn out? Were there things, in retrospect, you would have paid more or less attention to? Have any ideas to help other couples have a dream wedding while saving a few bucks?
Let us know.
Mail your comments to The News-Herald, One Heritage Drive, Suite 100, Southgate, MI 48195.
Good luck!
