It’s Absurdly Expensive to Get Married in These Upstate New York Locations

Getting married is one of the best days of most peoples' lives. Family and friends gather together, as you all celebrate reaching the peak of your journey from partners, to a couple, to fiancés and beyond.

It's an extremely joyous occasion, but often, one that comes with a hefty price tag. If you have an eye on getting married in Upstate New York, a few of the most popular locations will certainly cost you an-arm-and-a-leg.

Or, as we've learned recently, a house.

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Report: Weddings in Three Upstate Cities Cost More Than Your House

A story from New York Upstate shared details from a report from SmartAsset, which broke down the cost of holding a wedding in various metropolitan areas across the country.

The report included financial information for a prospective wedding held in four spots in Upstate New York: Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo.

SmartAsset weighed two variables against one another when forming their report: average cost of a wedding (2021, TheWeddingReport.com) and median home sales prices (Oct 2021-Oct 2022, Zillow).

A 13% down payment on one's hypothetical home was then calculated, based on Zillow's sales price figures.

Here are the figures that were calculated for Upstate New York's major metros:

• Syracuse, NY: $31,304 for a wedding; $23,816 down payment
• Rochester, NY: $31,340 for a wedding; $25,161 down payment
• Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY: $32,394 for a wedding; $27,938 down payment
• Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY: $36,133 for a wedding; $37,635 down payment

Here's what these totals tell us: it costs more money to plan and hold a wedding, than to make a down payment on a house, in Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo, NY.

Just how much more does it cost to have a wedding in these areas than buy a house? Here's how it breaks down, in percentages:

• Syracuse, NY: 31.44% more
• Rochester, NY: 24.56% more
• Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY: 15.95% more
• Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY: −3.99% less

Naturally, this further proves that Albany is the superior metropolitan area in Upstate New York, but that's not the point of the story.

If you rank these metropolitan areas against the rest of the 146 considered in this report, Syracuse is second for wedding vs. house cost in the entire country, while Rochester is fifth, and Buffalo is eighth.

Albany, meanwhile, is ranked 27th on the list.

Funny enough, compared to the four Upstate New York locations, you're better off getting married in the New York City metropolitan area. NYC is ranked 95th out of the 150 metro areas in the report, with a wedding costing nearly 40% less than a down payment on a home.

Of course, a couple wants to do everything in its power to make their wedding day as special as possible. That being said, the cost of living is through-the-roof, so if you choose to purchase your home and then have your wedding there, we don't blame you one bit!