Wedding, Engagement-Ring Spending on The Decline

The projected decline follows a 30% drop in the average amount spent on an engagement ring in 2008, says Shane McMurray, chief executive of The Wedding Report, a Tucson, Ariz.-based firm that specializes in wedding industry market research. Together, the declines suggest a significant shift in consumer attitudes. In past economic downturns, he says, the wedding industry has been more resilient as people continued to spend on weddings.

“The economy really has people in a big bind right now, so that has a direct effect,” says Mr. McMurray, who notes that the average amount spent on weddings plummeted 24% in 2008, compared with 2007, to reach $21,814, according to a survey of 3,000 brides that The Wedding Report conducted in 2008. This year, he expects couples to spend 6% to 8% less on weddings on average — these wedding costs include reception fees as well as items such as the wedding dress, tuxedos and rings for the bride and groom.

When it comes to wedding rings, the average amount spent on a bride’s wedding ring rose 21.3% to reach $1,129 and the amount spent on a groom’s ring increased 38.3% to reach $907 last year, due in part to couples having more money to spend on smaller-ticket items after scaling back on spending on big-ticket items such as catering and reception fees, Mr. McMurray says. This year, however, those amounts spent are expected to decrease by 8.6%, he says, adding that spending on the wedding dress is also likely to see a 6% to 8% decline this year.

Unfortunately for men, even in this downturn, a survey by online ring reseller IdonowIdont.com showed that women still expect their partners to splurge on a ring. In the survey of 208 women conducted in October, 64% said a groom should pay “as much as he can afford” for an engagement ring, and only 23% said they thought it was OK for the bride to chip in and help to purchase her engagement ring. (Almost 40% said “Absolutely not–would hurt the romance of the moment,” the survey said.)