Tucson and Phoenix make list of top 40 locations to get married in the U.S.

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Tucson and Phoenix are two Arizona cities that made WalletHub’s top 40 list of places out of 182 spots to get married in the U.S.

The average couple spends around $28,000, and given recent inflation, the cost is rising. Overall in the U.S., the wedding industry pumps around $62 billion into the national economy, which is low considering the original of $78 billion pre-COVID-19 pandemic. Across 180 cities, Tucson made #12 on the list and Phoenix landed at #37.

WeddingWire has 68 Tucson venue locations in the Tucson area, while Phoenix boasts 129 venue locations. The company sorted each location, judging the wedding cost, facilities and services of venues in the region, and the activities and attractions within the city itself.

The city ranked the best of weddings in 2023 was Orlando, FL, followed closely behind by Last Vegas, NV, and Tulsa, OK. The bottom-ranked locations for weddings are Oxnard, CA, Bridgeport, CT, and Pearl City, HI. If you’re wanting to prioritize cost, the cheapest places to get married are Fort Smith, AR, Charleston, WV, and Brownsville, TX, with the highest ranking in Fremont, CA, Honolulu, HI, and Pearl City, HI.

Before you say I do, consider some suggestions to maximize your wedding budget, courtesy of WalletHub. Kristi Mong, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist with MindWorks, said that it’s good for couples to talk through their visions for how much to spend long before venues are booked. “While each couple will likely have a few unique circumstances, most couples will probably want to answer some variation of the following questions together.”

Erika Engstrom, Ph.D., director of the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Kentucky, said that when it comes to budgeting and compromise, think outside of the box. “Do you really need the monogrammed napkin rings and ten-tier cake? Be wary of going down the rabbit hole of what Naomi Wolf calls ‘Brideland,’ where every conceivable accouterment becomes a life-or-death magical item that you think you must have,” she said. “Weddings themselves are fraught with gender problematics to the detriment of women’s equality in a patriarchal state, which the United States is right now.”

Source: WalletHub

Click here to check out the full study.