Planning a wedding? Here's the least expensive state to get hitched
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Getting married out West has its financial perks, according to a new study. (iStock)
The least romantic part of planning a wedding has to be dealing with your budget.
Not only do most weddings involve having to pay caterers based on how many guests you invite (sorry to all the second- and third-cousins who felt snubbed during wedding season), there’s the cake, the dress, the open bar, and of course, the ultimate money pit: the wedding venue.
And even if you’re a star DIY-er, your wedding can still cost an arm and a leg — depending on where you are.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}That’s why The Knot surveyed nearly 13,000 couples married in 2017 for its 2017 Real Weddings Study, and found that the state you get married in can make a difference of tens of thousands of dollars.
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The good news, across the board, is that thanks to more DIY brides and couples cutting down on black-tie affairs in favor of non-traditional venues and personal touches, the average wedding cost has actually gone down to $33,391.
But the actual, least expensive state to get married in is New Mexico, averaging at $17,584, as reported by HuffPost. Other more affordable states include Utah (averaging just over $18,000) and Montana (just over $20,000).
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Some of the more eyebrow-raising, faint-inducing areas to tie the knot include Manhattan, averaging at $76,944; North and Central New Jersey at $62,074; and Chicago at $52,332.