Brilliant Earth CEO Beth Gerstein explains how she’s using the blockchain to source her jewels on ‘The Claman Countdown.’
With Valentine’s Day this week, it’s a good time of year to keep an eye on trends in the wedding industry.
That’s why WalletHub recently published a list of the best places to get married in 2025. With the average cost of a wedding growing to $35,000 in 2024, couples may want to stay flexible on where to tie the knot – and some cities have a better bang for your buck than others.
Analysts compared 182 U.S. cities on multiple criteria, including: how much the average wedding costs; how many affordable wedding venues and vendors per capita a city has; and the price of a three-star hotel room.
Here are the top 50 best places to get married, ranked from least to best.
THIS MIDWESTERN STATE IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE BEST PLACES TO RETIRE, NEW STUDY SAYS: SEE THE LIST
The average cost of a wedding in the U.S. is around $35,000, according to The Knot and WalletHub. (iStock / iStock)
50. Memphis, Tennessee
49. Albuquerque, New Mexico
48. Minneapolis, Minnesota
47. Indianapolis, Indiana
46. Jacksonville, Florida
45. Birmingham, Alabama
44. Kansas City, Missouri
43. Chattanooga, Tennessee
42. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
41. Reno, Nevada
40. St. Petersburg, Florida
39. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
38. Springfield, Missouri
37. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
36. Columbia, South Carolina
35. Honolulu, Hawaii
34. El Paso, Texas
33. Charleston, South Carolina
32. New York, New York
31. Knoxville, Tennessee
30. Seattle, Washington
29. Washington, D.C.
28. Tulsa, Oklahoma
STUDY RANKS US STATES WITH MOST FINANCIALLY-DISTRESSED RESIDENTS — SEE THE LIST
WalletHub compared 182 U.S. cities to see which ones were the best value for hosting weddings in. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Getty Images)
27. Richmond, Virginia
26. Charlotte, North Carolina
25. Scottsdale, Arizona
24. Salt Lake City, Utah
23. Dallas, Texas
22. Nashville, Tennessee
21. Sacramento, California
20. San Antonio, Texas
19. Tucson, Arizona
18. Portland, Oregon
17. Denver, Colorado
16. Cincinnati, Ohio
15. Phoenix, Arizona
14. St. Louis, Missouri
13. Chicago, Illinois
12. San Diego, California
11. Los Angeles, California
10. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
9. New Orleans, Louisiana
8. Houston, Texas
7. San Francisco, California
6. Austin, Texas
5. Tampa, Florida
4. Atlanta, Georgia
3. Miami, Florida
2. Las Vegas, Nevada
1. Orlando, Florida
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER
Analysts found that Orlando not only offers an abundance of wedding services, such as party equipment rentals, videographers and DJs, but that it’s also an ideal destination for out-of-town guests.
“Orlando is a good place for out-of-town guests to stay in because it has the second-highest number of hotels per capita in the country and its three-star hotels can be surprisingly cheap for a big city,” the study found. “Plus, guests who want to stay for more than just the wedding can enjoy Orlando’s abundant attractions – it ranks second among the most fun cities and is the third-best city for foodies.”
Likewise, WalletHub ranked Sin City very highly, considering it the number one most fun city in America – and with the amount of attractions and affordable restaurants, it’s a good-value location for weddings as well.
The price of wedding vendors was a key criterion in WalletHub’s study. (iStock / iStock)
“Another thing to note is that while Las Vegas definitely isn’t the cheapest city for holding your wedding, it’s also not as expensive as you might think – the average cost of having a wedding is the 38th-cheapest out of the more than 180 cities in our study,” the report explained.
Miami was ranked as the third-best city for weddings, considering the abundance of wedding vendors in South Florida and the Magic City’s reputation as being one of the best U.S. food cities.
“In addition, staying in Miami is not too taxing on guests’ wallets,” the study noted. “The lowest price for a 3-star hotel room is $81, the 12th-lowest in the country, and Miami has an abundance of affordable restaurants rated at least 4.5 stars.”
The most expensive cities to get married in included: Oakland, California; Oxnard, California; Pearl City, Hawaii; Fremont, California; Santa Rosa, California, and San Jose, California.
For more Lifestyle articles, visit foxbusiness.com/lifestyle
Orlando was a top-40 city in terms of wedding affordability, WalletHub found. (iStock / iStock)
“When weddings can cost tens of thousands of dollars and prices have only become even more outrageously inflated in recent years, it pays to hold your wedding in a city that’s affordable, both for those paying for the wedding and for guests who will need to make accommodations,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo advised. “Certain cities also make wedding planning easier with an abundance of options for wedding essentials, from florists to videographers to venues.”
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
“The more options a city has, the more likely you are to receive competitive pricing and to find places that can work with your optimal schedule.”