MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The 2022 wedding season is well underway, and with many COVID restrictions lifted, couples are set to make this a record year for tying the knot.
According to the national trade group The Wedding Report, the number of couples getting married is up about 30% from 2021 – the most since 1984.
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Wedding planner JoAnn Gregoli describes it this way: “I call it controlled chaos.” She says it’s all due to a mixture of pandemic engagements and COVID-postponed nuptials.
“I’ve never seen this many people who are in need of wedding dates, wedding planners, wedding vendors,” Gregoli says. “It’s crazy.”
Popular venues like New York City’s ‘Tavern on the Green’ are booking up fast. The tavern’s Director of Events Kerry Neal-Shaw says couples won’t find a Saturday night available for the rest of the year, and just a handful are available for 2023.
“We’ll talk to them about Friday night or Sunday or even a weekday – like a Thursday night – and see if that’s even possible for them,” she says.
Flexibility may also help couples with sticker shock and supply chain snags.
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According to TheKnot.com, average spending on weddings last year was $34,000, and that amount is going up. Experts say the key to having a dream wedding this year is booking early, prioritizing what you want, and budgeting from there.
“Food costs are going up, labor costs are going up,” Gregoli says. “Event material – we can’t get glass vases, flowers are in short supply. Champagne is in short supply.”
Jesse White and Lisa Van Loo got engaged last fall. When they started looking at wedding dates and venues, they quickly realized they’d have to move fast.
“The owners were saying, this date’s now gone, this date’s now gone. And so, I was getting anxious,” Van Loo says.
White and Van Loo chose September in California’s wine country to celebrate their big day. It will be one of about 2.5 million weddings in the U.S. this year.
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“For us to be able to come out of a pandemic and be getting married is really exciting,” says Van Loo.
