The wedding season is just around the corner, but those who want to get married in some municipalities must be deep in the pouch. On average, the costs for a ceremony in Brabant this year increased by 4.7 percent, with outliers who almost doubt whether it is still worth the yes.
Wedding plans? Then it pays to call around first. In Geertruidenberg you pay just 950 euros for a ceremony on a popular day, while in Heusden you can already say ‘yes’ for 250 euros.
The price increases vary considerably per municipality. “In Alphen-Chaam, for example, it has become considerably more expensive,” says Sarah Glasbergen, founder of Trouwplatform ThePerfectwedding.nl. “There you have now lost almost 480 euros for a Friday afternoon ceremony, while last year that was just under 311 euros.” So in Alphen-Chaam it is a jump of 54 percent. That’s not nothing. Goirle (from 316 euros last year to 420 euros this year) and Breda (from 475 euros last year to 623 euros this year) also raised their rates considerably compared to a year earlier.
Love inflation
But why those enormous differences between municipalities? Glasbergen: “That remains guessing. Some municipalities are in an expensive, monumental building and calculate those costs. Others are simply popular: they can make it to ask for higher prices.”
According to a spokesperson for the municipality of Alphen-Chaam, the considerable increase has everything to do with the search for ‘cost-effective’. Everything – from the civil status officer to the location rental – is nowadays passed on to the bridal couple, where it was not yet the case last year. “Municipalities are financially tight and this is one of the ways they are trying to adjust,” says the spokesperson.
Not everywhere got married more expensive: in Dongen it has become cheaper. You paid 648 euros there last year, now 484 euros. According to a municipal spokesperson, this is because they have digitized the getting married process: “This makes the process set up more efficiently, so that we spend less time on marriages.”
So expensive is getting married in your municipality:
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Extra staff
Sarah knows the day in the week on which you get married. A Monday is cheaper than Friday, the most popular wedding day of the week. “Fridays are often quickly full, so municipalities increase the rates in the hope of spreading something,” says Glasbergen. During the weekend, the costs are even further up: “Municipalities often have to use separate staff and wedding officials usually receive extra compensation on these days.”
According to Sarah, municipalities can decide for themselves what bridal couples have lost with them. “From our platform, where we are for the wedding couples, we sometimes find that bizarre. Collaboration that makes it the same for all municipalities would be nice,” says Glasbergen. “I understand that things are getting more expensive, but 50 percent more expensive … what are we doing?”
Get married again
Despite the big price tags, Sarah sees that the marriage is on the rise again. “In the past it was really obvious, and after that it was a bit thinner for a number of years, but now more (young) people get married again.” Choosing in an uncertain time, it is extra conscious to each other again, says Glasbergen: “We want to reflect on love again.”
And it may become more expensive, creativity has no limit. “People really unpack, make it an experience of it. Weekend weddings are hot: you invite everyone for a mini holiday. And also cocktailed weddings in a cozy café or back garden are completely in.”