In February, there was a survey which released results from a survey they conducted, known as the 2009 American Wedding Survey, which tracked all sorts of information related to weddings, from planning to costs and many things in between.

The first statistic to hit my mind is that 82% of couples say they set a budget for the wedding, which I would have bet against. Not that I don’t believe most couples have a figure in mind, but actually sitting down and planning a budget; that number seems high based on personal experience.

The average dollars spent on wedding dresses seems about right. That figure came in around $1,075 per dress, and seeing how the economy suffered in 2008 and everyone was scrambling around looking to save on costs, this one can be believed. That figure, by the way, was only $21 more than when the same survey was conducted in 2006.

Something that’s good to see is that couples are spending more time doing research online for wedding related issues. What they’re researching, though, couldn’t be more different. Brides tend to spend more time researching wedding gowns, both for prices and styles. Grooms tend to spend more time researching honeymoon locations and things to do. Maybe this is one area that wedding planners need to work on discussing with both parties, because obviously they’re not quite on the same page.

Brides also spend time researching financing for their weddings, which have gone up since 2006, but not all that much. There was a 1% increase in wedding costs since 2006, to just over $28,000, but the reception seems to be the biggest expense, averaging almost $12,000.

Grooms probably need to spend more time researching wedding rings, because that’s the one expense that’s increased the most. Back in 2006, the average wedding ring cost was around $4,400; that cost has jumped to $6,350. The thought behind this is that more grooms go ring shopping with the brides these days as opposed to in the past when they’d either use a family heirloom or go shopping alone. Are they saying brides are greedy? No, just those brides know what they like, point it out, and grooms feel obliged to try to give them what they want.

A couple other small items that are fascinating as well. Even now, 19% of the family’s of the bride end up paying for the entire wedding, whereas only 8% of brides will foot the entire bill. This means that couples will usually pay for the entire thing themselves for the most part. Also, almost half the brides get married wherever they happen to be living at the time, with 30% getting married in their hometown. And one final fascinating statistic is that 10% of all brides today have a "man" of honor instead of a maid of honor; that figure is almost nonexistent as it applies to grooms.

It would seem that, as with most things, the more things change the more they stay the same. A growing trend is for couples to go on what’s known as a destination wedding, at nearly 10%. But one thing is almost gone now; rice throwing is down to 7% and declining.