Navigating the Trends

Need-to-Knows for Brides & Grooms

By Shannon Brooks | February 16, 2023

Take in the mountains and sea from the Moxi’s Lookout Tower | Credit: ByCherry Photography

Read all of the stories in our 2023 Wedding Guide here.

Pent-up demand for delayed weddings and new engagements made 2022 the “Year of the Wedding,” as many media outlets deemed it. More than 2.5 million couples across the country said “I do” in celebrations of all sizes. With demand off the charts, competition for venues and vendors was fierce. Costs increased due to inflation, while supply chain challenges further raised the price tags on expenses of everything from invitations to catering.

Those hurdles did not slow couples down from racing to the altar — or courthouse. The pandemic experience sparked a newfound sense of urgency to do more of the things that create joy and bring us together. As a result, couples are going all-out when it comes to throwing memorable, meaningful celebrations. Similarly, more guests are inclined to RSVP “yes” when wedding invitations arrive in the mail. Cancellation and postponement fears have been put to rest. The wedding industry is officially back.

Weddings are big business in Santa Barbara, and the local industry benefited from last year’s wedding boom. According to the Wedding Report, 2022 was a record year for Santa Barbara County with an unprecedented 4,848 weddings and $167 million in total wedding-related sales. The average spending on a wedding in Santa Barbara was more than $37,000 — about $5,000 more than pre-pandemic highs. While 2023 is not expected to cross the 4,000-wedding threshold, the forecasted 3,970 weddings set to take place in the region this year will keep wedding-related businesses and services busy and in the black