Beach weddings in Southwest Florida really took a hit with Hurricane Ian. But they are coming back. However, when it comes to weddings in Florida, the beach isn’t the favorite anyway. Although three of the top 10 wedding destinations are in Florida, the best place to get married in the sunshine state, and really nationwide, is much further inland.
Anyone who’s ever organized a wedding knows all too well how difficult and time-consuming the process can be. It’s the reason many couples hire professional event planners to do the heavy lifting. And the cost only adds more stress, with the average couple shelling out around $28,000 for their big day.
In order to assist with the planning process, Wallet Hub compared more than 180 U.S. cities. The goal, to find the cheapest and most convenient wedding destinations that also promise a memorable day. They examined each city across 26 key indicators of wedding-friendliness. These range from average wedding cost to venues and event spaces per capita to hotel availability.
So you want to get married in Florida. Or maybe a different state. Here’s how the rankings were done. The cities were measured in three key dimensions: 1) Costs, 2) Facilities & Services and 3) Activities & Attractions. These are measured across the 150 most populated U.S. cities. That’s why you won’t see Naples or Estero listed here. I’ll go to any wedding at Coconut Point Hyatt. And I’m a great gift giver. Send the invite to the station.
We’ll get into the full methodology later. Let’s start with another one of those fun charts.