The wedding industry is still booming. Can it keep up the momentum?

Wedding season is underway, with couples typically beginning to tie the knot in late spring and continuing through the fall. Weddings remain a major economic force in the United States: according to wedding planning platform The Knot, the industry generated more than $100 billion in spending last year.

But as consumers contend with higher prices and ongoing economic uncertainty, questions remain about how much couples are willing to spend on their big day.

To learn more about the state of the wedding industry, “Marketplace Morning Report” host Nancy Marshall-Genzer spoke with Esther Lee, editorial director at The Knot, for our “Economic Pulse” series, which explores how people across different sectors are experiencing the economy. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.

Nancy Marshall-Genzer: So I had a medium-sized June wedding. My husband and I did stay within our budget. We will celebrate our anniversary on June 13. Are people still willing to spend a lot on a wedding right now?

Esther Lee: So the $100 billion U.S. wedding industry remains resilient. We actually did see 2 million couples getting married last year, with an average spend at around $34,000, which is the national average. And we're seeing that couples are indeed planning weddings, hiring vendors, and of course celebrating with their loved ones.

Marshall-Genzer: Are couples, though, becoming more price sensitive? Where might they be still willing to spend big, where might they sort of cut back?

Lee: Weddings continue to be a non-negotiable investment for couples. Our data actually shows that 95% of couples are grateful to celebrate in person, and 80% are in fact looking forward to their wedding day more than anything else this year. Where they're willing to spend, of course, is first and foremost on giving their guests the best experience. We find that that is the number one priority for couples when they go into the wedding planning process.

Marshall-Genzer: Now, there's a new wrinkle, relatively new wrinkle here. Toward the end of last year, couples had to start planning weddings with tariffs in mind, according to your annual Real Wedding study. I cannot imagine having to deal with that. How are couples adapting so far this year?

Lee: We do find that couples are incredibly resourceful when it comes to budgets and understanding costs. I say this often to couples, but there’s the need-to-haves and the nice-to-haves, and to really be honest and forthright about those discussions with your partner up front. Whether that be the catering, the band, you know, a certain DJ, a certain hotel that, where you want to get married, all of these factors, these are things that you need to communicate about throughout to keep the economics in mind.

Marshall-Genzer: As you look ahead to the peak wedding season coming up. What are you expecting to see in terms of spending for this year, more than last year, less so?

Lee: Here's one recurring thing that we have seen on our side, from the data perspective. Guest experience and personalization continues to grow. We see that the spend per guest has increased to $292 per attendee, and that is up $8 since 2024.