Planning a wedding these days can sometimes take a whole team to pull it off. There’s no doubt that anyone can easily get carried away with wedding plans and as the cost goes up, so will most people’s debts. According to the Association of Bridal Consultants, the average cost of a wedding has climbed to $28, 082 in the United Sates. CNN’s statistical numbers for the cost of matrimony in 2013 was also astounding with a reported average number of guests invited to a wedding ranging from 133 to 143 people and over $19 billion spent on wedding registries.
Does it really matter what the size of the wedding is? After all, my parents spent a modest $4000 for 120 guests back in the day and they seem perfectly happy about it. More importantly, does your wedding cost and size have any impact on marital bliss?
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There’s usually more than one factor that ties into marital satisfaction. Researchers have attempted to look at the whole picture (which includes what happens before marriage in relationships) to get to the bottom of what contributes to happy marriages.
According to researchers at Denver University, couples often “slide” into moving in together rather than talking about it and making a decision. Researchers were eager to see if this had any affect on satisfaction in relationships and found that participants who rated high on making a decision to cohabitate rather than “slide” reported higher marital quality later on.
The size of your wedding also appears to have an impact on marital satisfaction. Researchers found that higher number of guests at a wedding was positively correlated to marital satisfaction. The study cautions readers that marital satisfaction has less to do with how much a couple spends on a wedding but rather that a higher number of guests may indicate a larger support system which contributes to the overall happiness of marriages.
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While these researches may be making some bold claims about wedding size and marital quality, it is also likely that other factors are at play as well. Remember that the number one problem in relationships that lead to divorce is financial issues, which could mean that people who are able to afford a big wedding may be in the clear. A bigger wedding may also set up higher expectations to succeed in the marriage which could also mean that couples are more likely to be willing to stick it out through the tough times.
Whether you decide on a small or large wedding, remember that the quality of relationships around you will trump quantity in this case.
Amy Yew is a registered clinical counselor and relationship therapist. Tell us what you think and submit any questions you have to amyvancouvercourier@gmail.com. You can also tweet your thoughts on Twitter @AmyYew.
