Scary.

Every day, I try to keep in perspective what it is I really want out of a wedding, and what I would like to save for the rest of my life. And each day, I find myself getting sucked into this trap, where wedding vendors make me think that $2000 is totally a normal amount to spend on invitations; after all, they are beautiful letterpress, with soft, natural fiber paper, and innovative designs. And then, hopefully, I snap back into reality, where I realize that most people don't even really look at the invitations (at least not much), and that one can get something decent for a reasonable price.

I think this is particularly bad for me (and probably for Jill) given that we are doing most of our shopping on the North Shore of Chicago. I always knew it would be more expensive to get married in Chicagoland than say, Lafayette, IN. I just didn't know how bad it could be.

According to this website, the average American couple spends $15,299 and $25,498 on their wedding (this is probably excluding people who get married at a courthouse and don't have a "reception"). Here are some more statistics:

In West Lafayette [47906], the average cost of a wedding is: $19,429 and $32,382
Anderson, IN [46011]: $13,310 and $22,183
Indianapolis, IN [46201]: $16,369 and $27,282
Chicago, IL [60611]: $16,981 and $28,302

OK... about what you'd expect (actually, W. Laf. is full of some big spenders!). So imagine my surprise to see that the cost of a wedding in Wilmette, IL is: $72,362 and $120,603

HOLY SHIT!

Again, yes I expected it to be higher than pretty much all of Indiana... but more than 5x as expensive???

For some perspective, the cost of a wedding in Beverly Hills [90210] is: $57,216 and $95,361.

I'm not sure if I should feel good about myself for going *way* below average, or kick myself for agreeing to get married in such a frivolous part of the country!