Why A Small-Town Wedding May Cost You More
Weddings are expensive. So much so that we wrote a book literally titled, “Weddings Are Expensive”. (check it out here) Big cities are usually synonymous with being expensive. However, when it comes to your wedding, they may be the better choice in order reap some serious cost savings. Here’s why:
Competition
When you’re getting married in a small town, you won’t have many options when it comes to vendors. Not only will you run the risk of not having many businesses to choose from, you may also pay a premium for less-than-ideal services. Large cities and metropolitan areas provide you with diverse offerings, many service providers, a range of prices to fit your budget, and better quality. As they say, competition breeds innovation. Saturated markets force vendors to provide quality services at competitive rates or they risk going out of business. If a small town only has one florist, they don’t have to be good and they certainly don’t have to be affordable. If you can’t source a local vendor for the service that you need, you’ll have to pay a lot for out-of-town vendors to travel. This can easily double or triple their rates. Many vendors simply won’t travel, either, so you may receive lots of declined quote requests. They get plenty of business within their service area as is. There really isn’t an incentive to deal with the complexities and extra planning plus travel just to make essentially the same profit. Vendors have families and lives too, and everyone just wants to go home at the end of the night. Don’t be surprised when you can’t find a florist willing to drive 5-hours each way and stay in a hotel for two nights for a wedding with a $5,000 flower budget.
Travel and Accommodations
We’ve paid more to fly to South Dakota than we’ve paid to fly to Europe. Areas that don’t have an international airport with direct flights from other major cities require your guests to make multiple connecting flights. Small regional airports are usually only supported by a few airlines, and they charge premium rates for the limited inbound and outbound flights. Some routes may not even be available each day, so guests have to fly in earlier or fly out later than anticipated, meaning more days off from work and more nights in a hotel.
Hotels in small towns are a whole other money pit. Seedy highway motels that should be $49 per night charge $180 because they’re the only option within a 50-mile radius. On the other hand, sometimes the only hotel in the area is a luxury 5-star resort with room rates starting at $800 per night. You don’t have this problem in major metropolitan areas. Big cities have something for everyone’s budget and standards. Your wealthy uncle can stay at the resort and the family of four on a tight budget can stay somewhere safe and clean without breaking the bank.
Don’t even get us started on the cost of rental cars in small towns. Assuming they even have enough inventory available, prices are well over $100 per day for a base model vehicle before all the other fees and supplemental charges are tacked on. There likely won’t be much public transportation, if at all. It’s also very probable that taxis and ride-share services may not exist in the area.
Other Activities
Small towns are charming, but they also have their drawbacks when it comes to hosting events and parties in them. Guests need something to do when they’re not at your wedding. (See our other article about this here) If they’re not invited to all the pre-wedding activities reserved for the wedding party, they need some options for dining and leisure. Unlike big cities, many businesses in small towns close early and aren’t open on certain days of the week. If you’re expecting to have bars, restaurants, cafes, salons, etc. available, you may need to do some research on what’s available in the area so you can provide your guests with some ideas. Same as the vendors, prepare for the quality to be hit or miss, as well.
If you’re set on the small-town charm, research places that are within a 30-minute drive of major metropolitan areas to stay within the vendors’ service areas. You’ll still get the aesthetic that you want for your wedding paired with the convenience of big-city amenities. Doing a basic online search for “small towns near big cities” or “small towns near [city]” is a great place to start.
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