As customs approaches, couples will be more expensive for their weddings
Weddings are already huge costs, but as tariffs increase the cost of dresses and flowers, they can become more expensive.
As a florist, Allison Krivashek is doing his best to navigate the increased tariffs on imported flowers to maintain the costs of brides and grooms.
When becoming a bride, Krivashek is about to make a choice to prevent the July wedding budget from increasing.
Brides, grooms and wedding vendors are on similar boats as imported goods and customs prices add costs to life events where the prices are already expensive. According to the wedding website The Knot, various aspects of a wedding day are affected by customs duties, including products such as alcohol, flowers, wedding dresses, and centerpiece decorations.
80% of cut flowers are imported from other countries, and 90% of wedding dresses sold in the US are imported.
Heavy financial costs in the hearts of the bride and groom
A survey of 741 brides and bride and groom users exclusively shared with USA Today, 73% of couples said their biggest concern was to maintain costs within budgets, while 46% said economic factors such as inflation were major concerns. 34% were concerned about rising costs for products that could affect the wedding, especially the changes in prices due to tariffs, although 15% of couples mentioning it were less concerned about.
More than half of the couples involved (58%) said they have not seen tariffs affect their wedding yet, while 36% said they have changed plans due to financial stress. Of these couples, 22% say they adjust their budgets and 68% say they are increasing their budgets.
Rather than cutting, many couples responded to looming tariff concerns by taking aggressive measures such as early bookings and consulting occupations.
- About one in three couples buy items early to lock the pricing.
- Many people choose US-made or local products to offset import costs.
- 28% of couples have slightly reduced average 25 or 12 couples (average 112) who don’t want to sacrifice their guest experience (average 112).
Vendors are great at helping couples understand how to make changes to suit their budgets and plans for an increase, says Lauren Kay, executive editor at Knot.
“They want to help you have the best wedding you’ve ever had. They want to help you pull it off, whether it’s a trade-off to avoid tariffs or not that makes a trade-off to prevent your budget from being seriously affected,” Kay told USA Today.
The couple doesn’t seem to panic, Kay said, to deal with another moment in her wedding planning.
“I’m not particularly concerned about the tariffs themselves, but I’m just thinking about how we plan our wedding and all the economic factors we face today and stay within budget,” she said.
According to a survey by Knot’s Real Weddings, the average US wedding in 2025 will cost you $33,000, a slight decline from $35,000 in 2024.
Tariffs are rising
Some vendors like Krivachek are already beginning to see their rise.
“When they first came out, it’s my, well, this is going to be really devastating. We were watching everywhere from 10% to 25%. And when you’re talking about weddings with flowers, it really increases quickly when it’s 10% to 25% plus $5,000,” Krivachek said.
Some suppliers have said they use tariff news to unfairly raise prices twice as much.
Many florists and couples are panicking about how to offset the increase in tariffs and check contract language. This allows vendors to raise prices due to market fluctuations, she said.
Krivachek said she and other wedding vendors have learned that during the Covid-19 pandemic, the contract must include clauses to allow for unexpected market pricing fluctuations. She added that instead of handing out customs related prices to the bride and groom, she is communicating with consumers about other options.
“Can they raise the budget to keep everything the same, or we can summon them with local varieties. That’s what I love and it was really a positive thing for local growers,” Krivasek said.
She told some brides, especially those with winter weddings, that if their hearts sink into certain types of flowers that cannot be grown domestically in the winter, they would have to increase their budgets.
Florist adjusts her wedding budget
Krivachek was also married in July. Her flower budget is up to $36,000 in her budget as she feels she needs to make a statement as a florist.
She made some adjustments to keep her budget on the same budget, including using many landscaping plants and bushes.
“I’m excited about it because I want to create a tendency to take it home and plant it to remind you of the wedding and use these flowers and bushes to make it sustainable,” she said.
She also reduced the number of imported cut flowers that remain within budget.
She has not seen any tariff-related increases in other parts of her wedding budget, she said.
Customs prices are also rising for bridal gowns
According to Nayri Kalayjian, owner of Lovella Bridal in Los Angeles, between the execution of materials and transported products and the execution of transport materials and transport, there are many components for designing and creating gowns from different countries.
“Prices are everywhere, so wherever you gowns are manufactured, the same goes for the wedding industry,” she said.
Some designers are directly increasing the rate percentage, but some designers are adding tariff percentages, she said. Kalayjian said he saw an additional charge for customs between 10% and 35%.
But normally, bridal boutiques see price increases multiple times in the year, regardless of tariffs, Karaijian said.
Kalayjian said he would often tell the bride if he was definitely looking at the dress he liked, not waiting too long, or if the price could be abolished or the price would rise.
She said that since all bridal gowns are custom orders, it takes time to make them. Turnaround times are usually 6-8 months.
However, Kalayjian also said that even with prices rising, there are dresses in every price range per budget. Brides often get sample dresses with sudden discounts, she said.
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA Today. Contact her at blinfisher @usatoday.com or follow her on X, Facebook, or Instagram @Blinfisher, @Blinfisher.bsky.social.. Sign up for our free daily money newsletter. This includes Friday’s Consumer News.
