Choosing a wedding venue causes biggest disagreement between couples
A modern wedding now takes an incredible 528 hours — or 22 full days — of planning from engagement to the big day, according to new data.
A study looking into the wedding planning habits and behaviors of 2,000 Americans who have had a wedding in the last year and found that the average engaged person spends 12 hours a week planning their wedding.
This means the average engaged American will find themselves in wedding planning mode over the course of 11 months — or 44 weeks– logging 528 hours of planning from engagement to the big day.
The survey also uncovered the most time-consuming parts of the entire wedding planning process, finding that the perfect venue came in as the number one time-consuming activity — a quarter of those surveyed admitted that this was the most challenging and tedious part of the process.
Planning a wedding is no easy feat but the majority of engaged couples were excited and happy (68 percent and 53 percent, respectively), while they planned their big day.
However, for some, planning a wedding can be overwhelming. The average couple said they had four disagreements along the way, and even a few tears at times.
But what are the wedding elements couples are prone to disagree about? For a quarter of those surveyed (25 percent) finding the right venue was a source of contention.
Meanwhile, 18 percent of engaged couples clashed about arranging the catering and another 19 percent disagreed over who would be in the wedding party.
Not all couples clashed during the wedding planning process, though. Turns out nearly a quarter (23 percent) had zero disagreements with their partner as they planned their big day.
In fact, selecting save the date cards and picking the flower girl and ring-bearer were wedding features that partners often agree on.
For the majority of those studied (94 percent), having the help of their partner made the whole thing a lot easier and more enjoyable. And a whopping 46 percent wouldn’t change a thing about their special day.
The majority (84 percent) also agreed that their partner’s input in the wedding planning process was helpful — with 78 percent revealing their partner wanted to provide input.
“We know that coming together to celebrate such an important milestone, like a wedding, is equally rewarding and time consuming. However, creating meaningful moments, complete with personal touches and intimate elements, is what makes a couple’s big day so special.” a spokesperson for Minted Weddings said.
And on a more productive note, the wedding planning process can be a good exercise for couples to see how they get along in stressful situations.
For 83 percent of those surveyed, it was easy to agree with their partner, making the wedding planning journey a lot more manageable.
That doesn’t mean that wedding planning doesn’t come without its share of stressors, even if both people are getting along and agreeing on key elements of the big day.
Eighteen percent stressed about pleasing their in-laws while a further 17 percent of women worried about finding the perfect wedding dress for their big day.
Although the majority of recently married couples were happy and excited while wedding planning, there were some things that people would change about their big day.
The top items wedding couples would do differently were choice of photographer, venue, and wedding planner.
Top 10 most important wedding elements
| Finding the right venue | 46% |
| Hunting for the perfect wedding dress | 37% |
| Deciding who will be in the wedding party | 31% |
| Finding a photographer/videographer | 26% |
| Arranging the catering | 24% |
| Deciding on a color scheme | 22% |
| Selecting the music playlist | 20% |
| Choosing wedding invitations | 18% |
| Deciding on the first dance song | 18% |
| Finding bridesmaids dresses | 16% |