Last Thursday, I attended the Caribbean Travel Organization’s “Rhyme and Rum” event in Toronto as part of the Caribbean week celebration. One of the presentations was by Cindy Johnson of Platinum Events. Cindy shared her experiences in planning destination weddings, and talked about the splendid partnerships between travel agents and event planners in making destination weddings happen. Obviously, we each have different skill sets that we can team up, so we can help make your wedding come off perfectly – so you can get hitched, without a hitch!
It was interesting to learn more about the increasing trends for couples to have destination weddings.
Cindy shared some stats from http://honeymoons.about.com/cs/eurogen1/a/weddingstats.htm about the trend. Check out the latest numbers.
DESTINATION WEDDING STATISTICS
- 16 percent of marriages are destination weddings.
- The destination wedding market accounts for $16 billion in annual spending.
- Average budget for a destination wedding is $20,600.
- 60% of destination couples pay for the wedding themselves.
- The average age of a destination bride today is 33, compared to the U.S. average of 28.
- 70% have graduated college and the average household income is $110,000.
- Average number of guests at a destination wedding: 48.
- Guests at a destination wedding spend an average of $400 to attend.
- 9 out of 10 couples say weather is a key factor in selecting a destination.
- The leading destinations for out-of-town weddings are: (Figures in parentheses indicate number of weddings performed annually.)
- Las Vegas (125,000)
- Hawaii (20,000)
- U.S. Virgin Islands (5,100)
- Jamaica (5,000)
- Bahamas (4,000)
- Mexico and Florida are also important locations for destination weddings
- Destination couples spend $8,200 on average on their honeymoon. That’s more than one-third more than traditional wedding couples.
WEDDING MONTHS
The most popular months for weddings to take place are, in this order:
- June
- August
- May
- July
- September
- October
- December
- November/April (tie)
- February
- March
- January
If you want information on how to make your destination wedding happen, give me a call!