Weddings may be costly and aggravating. But this yr, potential brides and grooms are coping with an added layer, and it’s not cake. It’s tariffs.
Two million weddings happen within the United States yearly, however they’re very a lot a world affair. From the engagement ring to the cake, chairs, florals and the gown, all these things are touched by tariffs. Even these fastidiously crafted within the United States can include a number of elements from world wide.
President Donald Trump’s commerce agenda isn’t serving to the common price of a US wedding, which has risen by 18% to $33,000 over the past 5 years, in response to The Knot, a worldwide wedding planning and vendor market. With tariff charges as excessive as 50% for some international locations, you may count on prices to rise.
Vendors are “forced to make tough calls about whether to absorb increased costs or adjust their pricing, all while maintaining the level of service and quality their clients expect,” stated Raina Moskowitz, CEO of The Knot Worldwide.
One in 5 distributors have elevated prices due to tariffs, in response to the Knot, and 33% of engaged {couples} say they’re anxious about value will increase.
Beyond the bride, the gown is the star of the present.
Wedding attire price about $2,100, in response to the Knot, which are sometimes ordered and paid for greater than a yr prematurely. That signifies that by the point the gown arrives (usually shipped from abroad), tariff charges can change.
“That dress that we agreed to a price with the shop on is all of a sudden costing us 30%, 40% more,” stated Justin Alexander, president of the 79-year-old model Justin Alexander Wedding Dresses.
The family-owned dressmaker sells 70,000 attire annually, with 40,000 offered to US brides. The firm manufactures in Myanmar (40% tariff), China (20%), Vietnam (20%), and Portugal (10%).
“We’ve been diversifying our production out of China, but recent developments with higher tariffs in countries like Myanmar have been confusing and challenging,” stated Alexander.
But the added price doesn’t simply depend upon the place the gown is manufactured. Many of the supplies in a single garment, just like the lace, lining and tulle, could be sourced from a number of different international locations, all with their very own tariff charges.
Alexander stated it could troublesome to shift gown and materials manufacturing again to the United States due to greater labor prices and the dearth of producing at scale. It would additionally find yourself elevating prices for brides by eleven to fifteen occasions by way of value.
Brides out there for a Justin Alexander robe can already count on to pay 10% extra.
“The price has been increased because we have a tariff surcharge to account for the increase in tariffs varying from 20% to 40%,” stated Alexander, who stated the corporate absorbs the remainder.
Wedding cake orders are sometimes positioned later within the wedding planning course of, typically simply three weeks earlier than the occasion, and might price $540 on common, in response to the Knot.
Armana Christianson is the proprietor and cake artist at A. Cakes Bakery in Phoenix, Arizona. She bakes 100 high-end desserts annually that may price anyplace from $800 to $1000. Christianson stated one cake can have as much as a dozen elements – all sourced from totally different international locations with various tariff charges.
So she’s launched a brand new contract to ensure she’s protected against fluctuating costs.
“If my pricing raises more than 5%… then I’m able to tell my clients and potentially charge them for that increase if it’s something just exorbitant,” stated Christianson.
She stated it’s dizzying to maintain observe of all of the tariff charges, which for her elements can vary as much as 20%.
“I’m raising and readjusting (my prices) every six months,” stated Christianson. “My percentage booked from inquiries just goes down a little bit more each time, which is why I would prefer to not have to change my pricing. So often it is scary as a small business owner, this is my living.”
Diamonds and valuable gem stones
Before ‘I do,’ comes ‘yes!’ The engagement ring alerts the official begin of wedding planning.
Engagement rings at present price about $5,200 on common, in response to the Knot. Jewelers stated {couples} are getting more and more inventive with their rings, choosing valuable gem stones and lab-grown diamonds, however many nonetheless search for conventional diamonds.
Many of the stones and rings that {couples} see in shops have probably been within the United States for not less than six months. That means the present inventory is generally tariff-free, however that stock is operating skinny.
“Everything new coming in is going to incur (a) tariff. Consumers that are buying in January of 2026 are going to see a lot higher prices than people that are buying today,” stated Ankur Daga, co-founder of Angara Jewelry, a Los Angeles-based firm.
A solitaire diamond ring at Angara, for instance, is sourced from Botswana and carries a 15% tariff. The gold could be from Indonesia or Chile, which carries tariffs of 19% and 10%, respectively, or the US or Canada, which can not carry any duties in any respect.
Angara sources its sapphires from Sri Lanka (20% tariff), rubies from Mozambique (15% tariff), emeralds from Zambia (15%) and Colombia (10%), and opals from Australia (10%).
But the vast majority of all diamonds – 90% – are lower and polished in India, which holds a towering tariff charge of fifty%. That’s why Angara now does all closing manufacturing for its US market out of Thailand, not India, so stones coming to the United States carry a decrease 19% tariff charge.
Yet Daga believes there may be nonetheless a marketplace for affordability.
“What tariffs will do is drive the adoption of lab-grown (diamonds) far faster. It’s already at 57%, for engagement rings. We think within five years, this will be 80%,” he stated.
Floral costs may be probably the most risky in any wedding. Eighty % of all lower flowers are imported to the US, and a flower market might promote roses at totally different costs from every day to the following. Add in altering tariff charges, and it will get difficult for distributors.
“That’s been kind of the worst part, just nailing down the consistency of it and nailing down what to expect and how to protect myself and my business,” stated Marie Lewis, the proprietor of Nocturne and Bloom, a floral design studio in Los Angeles. Couples spend $2,700 on common for florals, in response to the Knot.
One bouquet or association probably has a number of sorts of flowers, every sourced from totally different international locations.
Even the vases and candle holders have gone up in value. Lewis buys hers from China.
“What I’ve been doing is just trying to pad the pricing a little bit more within each floral arrangement,” she stated. “That makes sure that I’m charging for my services and materials appropriately so that I’m not left in the hole, but also making sure that I am being appropriate with my clients.”
Venue and occasion design
After all of the planning and anticipation, the large day is right here. The venue which hosts the occasion can price {couples} a median of $12,000, in response to the Knot. Rentals price an extra $2,000.
It’s at present the busy season for the Treasury Venue Collection in St. Augustine, Florida, which runs from October by means of May. The firm hosts as much as 300 weddings a yr at its two places.
The Treasury Venue Collection hasn’t needed to elevate costs this yr, partly as a result of it recognized the place the tariffs would impact prices most.
This summer time, the venue stockpiled fashionable imported liquor, wine and champagne.
“Alcohol, that is our vulnerable item,” stated Brandy Boulette, the final supervisor on the Treasury Venue Collection. “We didn’t necessarily have to worry about our venue cost changing, because it’s kind of a fixed thing, but our bar service was going to be something that was definitely impacted.”
A venue sometimes gives linens, chairs, glassware, and cutlery, that are bought in bulk and reused wedding-to-wedding. But these gadgets usually have to get replaced due to put on and tear.
“We’re telling people right now with anything they might have been budgeting for – put a buffer in there,” stated Boulette.
Some venues are only a uncooked area, and it’s as much as the couple to convey all the things else in. They usually depend on occasion design corporations like Paisley & Jade in Richmond, Virginia, specializing in luxurious leases and customized designs, to assist.
“Even building a simple shelf for a back bar really involves all of these bits and pieces from all over,” stated Morgan Montgomery, co-owner of Paisley & Jade.
A customized venue design might have pendant lights and chairs from China, or a customized cake desk of supplies from New Zealand, Malaysia, and Canada. And special-order gadgets that aren’t already in stock come at a premium.
“I won’t guarantee a price. I can give you a ballpark, but I will not lock it in because my business cannot be on the hook for telling you that I can get you this sofa for $1,200 a piece, only to find out that the tariffs jumped by the time I placed the order,” stated Montgomery.