Did you know that there are about 2.5 million weddings that take place every year in the United States alone? That number doesn't include Americans who choose to marry elsewhere.

      Did you know that the average wedding costs anywhere between $20,000 to $30,000? The statistics also tell us that on average, the wedding industry in the US makes anywhere from $40Billion to $70Billion a year.

      Finally, did you know that half of all brides use a wedding consultant or coordinator?

      Given just those three statistics (and trust that there are many more), it is easy to see that the wedding industry is a very large industry in the United States. It's also one of the largest scams in the United States. Here's a fact you won't hear too often:

      Did you know that the minute you say “wedding”, things go up in price by a sizable percentage? Sometimes as much as 200%! That's because the people in various industries that can cater to weddings know that people who are getting married are willing to pay almost any price for a perfect day.

      If you are the type of bride (or groom) who doesn't want to have to deal with details and stress when it comes to the wedding, and you just want to show up and enjoy yourself on the big day, then you can hire a coordinator, pay around $30,000 and possibly start your married life in debt (given that the average income of a newlywed couple is about $55,000 annually.)

      However, if you want to be smart about it, and would like to save some money either for your honeymoon or for your life together, you can cut your wedding costs down to $10,000 or less! It will take some sacrifice, and yes, there will be a bit of stress (though there are ways to get around that) because you will be planning your own wedding.

      Planning your own wedding is something that is not unheard of. In fact, before the days of wedding coordinators and consultants, every bride planned her own wedding. What were the results of the self planning? They were great. Many weddings came out being dream weddings, or classic weddings that many would say were picture perfect. Why did they come out perfect almost every time? Here are the answers:

      First, the bride and groom are in complete control. Because you are the one making all the arrangements, you know everything, and can control everything. When you leave someone else to take charge, that is when things go wrong. The fact of the  matter is that most brides an d grooms can plan perfect weddings when push comes to shove because they WANT a perfect wedding. You are planning this for you, whereas substitutes are planning it for the money (and you have to pay them whether things come out perfect or not perfect, so they have a good chance of their not caring too much if they mess up.)

Page 2: Why Planning Your Own Wedding Pays Off