As COVID-19 is becoming endemic rather than a pandemic, how will destination weddings in 2022 change? Will couples and their loved ones feel safe to travel for a destination wedding? What do destination wedding 2021 statistics tell us about the future, and what does this mean for wedding planners?
These wedding industry statistics for 2021-2022 might hold the answers. Let’s see.
General Wedding and Wedding Planner Statistics for 2021/2022
1. In the U.S. alone, 2.4 million weddings take place each year on average, with just over 44,000 wedding ceremonies being held every weekend. (Condor Ferries)
2. According to a 2020 survey, 46 percent of couples choose to use a wedding planner. (Brides)
3. On-the-day planners are the most in demand (37 percent) when it comes to hiring a wedding planner, compared to the 31 percent of couples who choose an all-inclusive wedding planning package. (The Knot)
4. When couples start planning their wedding, a top search query is “wedding planning” or “wedding planner.” (WeddingWire)
5. Personal style is the top priority for 51 percent of brides-to-be and 47 percent of grooms-to-be when they plan their wedding. (Brides)
6. More than 80 percent of all weddings globally were postponed in April and May 2020 due to the pandemic, compared to the 10 percent that were canceled. (Statistica)
7. The year 2020 saw only 1.27 million wedding ceremonies. (The Wedding Report)
8. There were 1.93 million wedding ceremonies in 2021. (The Wedding Report)
9. Of the weddings scheduled for 2021, 20 percent of these were postponed to 2022. (The Wedding Report)
10. The market size of the wedding industry in the United States is $51 billion; however, due to Covid-19, revenue fell by 34.2 percent in 2020. (IBISWorld)
11. Revenue for the wedding planning industry decreased by 33.9 percent in 2020. (IBISWorld)
12. In 2020, due to the pandemic, 43 percent of couples streamed their wedding and offered their guests the opportunity to attend virtually. Five percent of couples had a 100 percent virtual ceremony. (Wed Insights)
Wedding Destination Statistics
13. Destination weddings are a $16 billion industry. (ISSUU)
14. Twenty-five percent of all weddings are out-of-town events. (ISSUU)
15. Each year, 340,000 to 350,000 destination weddings take place. (Ampersand Travel; Condor Ferries)
16. October followed by September, June, and August are the most popular months for couples in the Northern Hemisphere to have their wedding. (Ampersand Travel)
17. The least popular months to get married are January, February, and December for couples in the Northern Hemisphere. (Ampersand Travel)
18. Because of Brexit, destination weddings have become a less popular option for 30 percent of U.K. couples. However, 25 percent of couples in the U.K. get married in another country. (Condor Ferries)
19. Fifty percent of all couples who want to have a destination wedding hire a wedding planner. (Group Travel)
20. The majority of couples (80 percent) who choose a destination wedding have been married before. (Ampersand Travel)
21. Thirty-six percent of wedding couples who want a destination wedding hire a wedding planner, while only 24 percent of couples who plan a hometown wedding do. (WeddingWire)
22. The average budget for a destination wedding is $28,000 to $35,000. (Brides; Condor Ferries)
23. For destination weddings in America, couples spend $27,227 on average. (Condor Ferries)
24. For destination weddings in the U.K., couples spend £7.500 (around USD $10,000), while the cost of a traditional wedding is £27,161 (equivalent to USD $36,700). (Condor Ferries)
25. Forty percent of destination wedding couples pay some of their guests’ travel expenses, and it’s normal for them to pay all the travel expenses of their wedding party (immediate family members, bridesmaids, bride of honor, and groomsmen). (Condor Ferries)
26. More than half of destination wedding couples pay for their own wedding. (Ampersand Travel)
27. The average age of brides who opt for a destination wedding is 33. (Ampersand Travel)
28. The majority of couples who decide to have a destination wedding have graduated from college. They have an average annual household income of $110,000. (Ampersand Travel)
29. 2019 saw more than 5,600 destination weddings taking place, with 37 percent in the continental U.S. and just more than 10 percent in international locations, like Mexico and the Caribbean. (The Knot)
30. The top three most expensive wedding destinations are New Jersey ($53,400), Rhode Island ($49,800), and New York ($48,600). (The Knot)
31. Nine in 10 couples consider the weather an important factor when choosing their wedding destination. (ISSUU)
32. Thirty percent of couples who get married out of town have a wedding reception or party back home after the wedding and honeymoon. (Group Travel)
33. Couples stay at least a week at their destination wedding location to ensure everything is in order. (Group Travel)
Destination Wedding 2021, All About Guests
34. A typical hometown wedding has 132 wedding guests, and a destination wedding has 50 guests. (WeddingWire; Bridal Guide)
35. In the guest count, nearly 90 percent of destination weddings include children. (Condor Ferries)
36. It costs a guest almost $700 to attend an out-of-town wedding; however, the cost is slightly higher for the wedding party members. (Ampersand Travel)
37. Cost is the main reason why nearly 54 percent of wedding guests would not attend a destination wedding. The other reasons are not knowing the bride- and groom-to-be well enough to justify the cost (almost 18 percent) or taking time off from work (nearly 12 percent). (BusinessInsider)
38. Almost 10 percent of guests can’t get time off work to attend a wedding ceremony. (Condor Ferries)
39. About seven percent of guests don’t attend a destination ceremony because they aren’t interested in the destination. (Condor Ferries)
40. Sixty-six percent of guests believe the couple shouldn’t expect a wedding gift if they have a destination wedding. (BusinessInsider)
41. Nearly 36 percent of guests see an out-of-town wedding as a chance to travel and see new places. (BusinessInsider)
42. On average, guests stay a minimum of three days at the destination wedding location. (Group Travel)
43. More than 70 percent of Americans haven’t attended a destination wedding. (BusinessInsider)
Top Wedding Destination Locations
44. Surprisingly, Las Vegas — the so-called “Wedding Capital of the World” — is still seen as the top wedding destination, with a staggering 80,000 weddings hosted there in 2020. (Condor Ferries)
45. Other popular out-of-town wedding destinations for Americans are Hawaii (20,000), U.S. Virgin Islands (5,100), Jamaica (5,000), and the Bahamas (4,000). (ISSUU)
46. The most popular wedding destinations in the U.S. are California, Florida, and Nevada. (Condor Ferries)
47. Of the destination weddings in the U.S., 40 percent take place in international locations. (Condor Ferries)
48. Countries that are becoming popular options for destination weddings are Negril and Ocho Rios (Jamaica), St. Lucia (Caribbean), and Puerto Vallarta (Mexico). (Destination Weddings)
49. Only 14 percent of couples who have a destination wedding choose this wedding option because they want to have their honeymoon in the same location. (Condor Ferries)
50. Nearly 11 percent of brides- and grooms-to-be choose to have an out-of-town wedding because they want to check the location off their travel bucket list. (Condor Ferries)
51. Around four percent of couples have a destination wedding to acknowledge their heritage. (Condor Ferries)
Destination Weddings 2021 and Other Related Travel Statistics
52. In 2019, leisure travel comprised nearly 80 percent of total global travel spending. (Statistica)
53. Pre-pandemic, the global leisure travel market size was almost $4.7 billion. With the pandemic in 2020, the market size decreased by 49.4 percent and comprised $2.37 billion of the market share. (Statistica)
54. With vaccines being rolled out en masse, travel restrictions easing, and borders reopening the world over, leisure travel has been on the increase in 2021. (allwork.space)
55. It’s expected that international tourism travel will rebound by 60 percent in 2022. (UNWTO)
56. The year 2022 is expected to be very popular for travel, with more trips being booked than before the pandemic. (Yahoo! Finance)
57. Two-and-a-half million weddings have been booked for 2022, many of which will be destination wedding 2021 ceremonies. It’s estimated that the average expense for one wedding will be $24,300. (The Wedding Report)
58. It’s anticipated that there will be 2.24 million weddings in 2023, with each wedding costing an average of around $24,900. (The Wedding Report)
Final Thoughts on Destination Weddings 2021 and Trending into 2022
The wedding industry as a whole took a deep dive in 2020 with Covid-19 and the resulting global lockdowns and strict travel restrictions.
The year 2021 saw a rise in wedding ceremonies, including destination weddings, mostly as a result of all the weddings from 2020 that were postponed. This list of wedding statistics for 2021 shows that the trend continues for 2022.
So what does this mean for wedding planners and their business plans?
There will be many wedding ceremonies, and with leisure travel expected to rise, there will be an increase in the number of destination weddings in 2021/2022 too.
