Average Wedding Cost Rebounds to 21.39 Million Won After Two-Month Decline

Korea Consumer Agency’s “Wedding Service Price Survey”
Gangnam Tops the List at 34.66 Million Won

The cost of wedding-related services, which had been on a decline since the end of last year, rebounded last month.

According to the 'Wedding Service Price Survey' released by the Korea Consumer Agency on March 30, the nationwide average wedding cost in February was 21.39 million won. This represents a 2.3% increase compared to December 2025. The wedding cost includes the contracted amount for the wedding venue, as well as studio photography, wedding dress, and makeup – the so-called 'studio-dress-makeup' package.

By region, Gangnam in Seoul was the most expensive, with the average cost reaching 34.66 million won. Other areas in Seoul followed at 28.92 million won, and Gyeonggi Province at 19.09 million won. Gyeongsang Province recorded the lowest wedding service cost at 12.84 million won.

Jeju showed the largest increase, with costs rising by 19.2%. This was followed by non-Gangnam areas of Seoul (14.3%) and Gwangju (12.5%).

However, the wedding cost in Gangnam, Seoul, dropped by 3.7% last month compared to its peak in December 2025 (35.99 million won). The per-person meal cost also decreased by 2.2%, from 90,000 won to 88,000 won. Ulsan saw the largest decrease, falling by 13.9% from December 2025 to 15.52 million won.

When analyzing the cost increases by item, the rise in wedding venue rental fees was particularly noticeable. Last month, the median rental fee was 3.5 million won, up 16.7% from December 2025. Notably, in Gwangju, rental fees more than doubled from 1 million won to 2.5 million won.

In terms of meal type, 'course meals' were the most expensive at an average of 119,000 won per person, followed by 'buffet meals' at 62,000 won and 'Korean table setting' at 55,000 won.

Even if the per-person cost for course meals was similar, the total meal bill varied by region depending on the minimum guarantee of guests required by venues. The average minimum guarantee was 224 people in five regions including Seoul, but only 102 people in four regions including Busan. As a result, even with similar per-person meal prices, the total cost could differ by as much as sixfold.

The Korea Consumer Agency commented, "Even if the per-person meal price is low, some wedding halls set a large minimum guarantee of guests as a mandatory condition, so couples should factor this into their budget planning."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.