Upscale Wedding Costs Rise Modest 2.6% in ’98

It will cost 2.6% more to tie the knot this year at an upscale wedding, a modest increase after a 7.9% jump last year, according to the Moet & Chandon Matrimonial Matrix. The makers of Moet & Chandon Champagne track the cost of 12 elements of a fancy June wedding in New York with 150 guests. Seven of the 12 items had price increases, the smallest of which was a 0.4% rise in the cost of invitations. The cost of Champagne rose by 4.1%, catering by 5.3% and flowers by 4.8%. Prices on four items stayed the same--a Priscilla of Boston wedding dress, wedding bands from Van Cleef & Arpels, a Sylvia Weinstock wedding cake and the wedding license from the city of New York. The only price drop this year was the cost of a seven-night stay at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, which fell 17% due to declining demand for hotel rooms in Hawaii.