Wedding ceremonies, inside and outside of Iran, continue to be a multimillion-dollar industry, and in addition, a big hurdle in the way of matrimony, as young couples who are not affluent, often demand lavish spending on their marriages.
The reception venue as well as the photo and videography are the most expensive part of the nuptials and the expenses often do not include honeymoon costs.
Various countries including Iran offer financial assistance and loans as incentive and facilitators for the large number of single youth to get married. In Iran, there are 11 million singles in the marriageable age.
Here is a look at some of the countries with the most expensive wedding ceremonies in the world.
Customs and Traditions
The sky-high costs in the South Korea – nearly $200,000 or more than four times the average annual income – stem from a combination of cultural traditions and a decades-old custom that the groom must pay to provide a home.
The average cost for a wedding in 2011 rose about 270% to around $64,000 from 1999, while the inflation during the same period rose 45.5%. That amount excludes housing costs, reported Reuters.
Although most couples choose to spend the money, many are less than happy, and as of 2014 the Seoul government began to offer inexpensive apartments to couples willing to get married.
Alaska Cheapest in US
The average cost of a wedding in the US rose to $32,641 in 2015, an increase of more than $5,000 since 2010, according to a new survey from wedding planning website TheKnot.com.
With the median household income around $54,000, it’s not uncommon for couples to be spending more than 50% of their annual income on their wedding.
Couples getting married in Manhattan are spending the most money by far at more than $80,000. While the most affordable place was Alaska, with the average wedding costing a little over $17,000.
Mix of East & West
A couple can have a rather low-cost wedding in Singapore for less than $10,000 if they are going for something simple. However, when asked, most couples said they shell out an average of $30,000 to $50,000 on their wedding, reports get.com.
Being a young nation, weddings in Singapore have taken on a rather peculiar character, a mixture of both western and traditional celebrations, which probably explains the expensive price tag.
Skyrocketing in Iran
The average cost of a marriage ceremony in Iran over the past year has hovered at somewhere between $4,500 and $5,800. However, the expenses more often than not shoot up to $60,000 among the affluent and well-to-do families.
Although the government has long introduced a loan scheme worth $1,500 per individual who plans to get married, the amount is irrelevant compared to the skyrocketing inflation rate.
Additionally, a consumerist culture has raised expectations to unrealistic levels. Most families try to spare no effort and expense to hold lavish ceremonies equipped with the best chorographers and caterers.
This extravaganza flies in the face of current economic trends, which have seen the purchasing power of urban families fall exponentially over the past years.
A large number of young couples are opting for mass wedding ceremonies sponsored and paid for by the government which have become increasingly popular over the years. In February 2001, a record number of 14,000 couples married all across Iran at a mass wedding ceremony.
Although wedding traditions are changing, the custom of getting parental assistance to fund the big day lives on in almost all countries.
