“There is NO obligation to come if you can’t!” part of the message read.
Shared with a group of friends, the text was not an invitation to a happy hour, a casual group hang or a weekend pickleball meet-up. It was for a wedding.
Sharing the relevant information about their wedding celebration over a series of group texts, Adrian Mangiuca and Mariah Baker, both from Washington, D.C., and in the aeronautics and space industry, had summoned around 30 friends to join them at a local bar after a family-only ceremony in Rock Creek Park this past June.
“We were traveling, and we kept saying, ‘We really need to tell people about the wedding’,” said Dr. Baker, who has a Ph.D. in earth and planetary science. “Adrian drafted a text kind of outlining everything.” This included the date, a rough start time, the address of a local dive bar and some details on what to expect: “A little drinking and dancing.”
While some engaged couples relish the myriad details that weddings — and their planning — inevitably bring, many are taking a hard pass on what they feel are superfluous expenses and unnecessary stressors. Although this casual approach to wedding invitations might have made Emily Post clutch her pearls, for millennial and Gen Z couples it’s a natural way to share their wedding logistics. And it saves couples money.
The average total cost of wedding invitations and stationery was $530 last year, according to the Knot. For some weddings, though, the cost can be significantly higher. Laura Ritchie, who runs Grit & Grace, a luxury wedding planning service, says the engaged couples she works with spend, on average, $5,000 to $10,000 on wedding invitations.
