Is North Carolina Among Best States To Get Married?

When planning a wedding, there are a few decisions that need to be made sooner rather than later. One of these instances is figuring out when you want to have your wedding, with peak wedding season being during the summer months to take advantage of the great weather.

After that, it’s mainly down to deciding where to hold the festivities – in your home state, or somewhere else? To help narrow down the options, the team at BetCarolina.com, home to North Carolina sports betting news, has compiled an index ranking the best US states to say “I do” based on various factors such as weather, average wedding cost, and marriage/divorce rates.

Wondering where North Carolina ranks, or if it might be worth considering somewhere else? Just keep on reading! Keep tabs on this site for lifestyle resarch such as this ahead of the launch of NC sports betting apps early next year.
 

North Carolina is 5th Best State to Exchange Vows

Just landing a spot in the top five best states to say “I do” with an index score of 59.1 out of 100 is North Carolina. When it comes to why you might pick North Carolina as the location of your wedding, the amount of money you could save is a potential draw. In fact, of all the states that made it into our top five, it has the second cheapest cost for throwing a wedding, just behind Florida, with the average amounting to $23,280. 

The reason why costs are so low may be due to the lack of availability for wedding-related services, with NC ranking the lowest of our top five states for event planners, jewelers, florists, and photographers availability.

A summer wedding is all about the weather, and North Carolina gets an average of 4,466 hours of sunshine per year. This means it lands a spot in the top 25 as one of the sunniest US states. Having said that, it turns out it’s also one of the rainiest, with an average rainfall of 48 inches per year. But hey, rain on your wedding day is good luck! 

Therefore, couples planning on having their wedding in North Carolina may need to pick their final date wisely if they’re after the glorious sun.  As far as how popular it actually is to get married there, in 2022, North Carolina was the eighth most popular state in the entire US, having been the location of over 75,000 weddings!

Other factors that may influence your decision to go for North Carolina is that the state can bring a real Southern charm to your wedding, along with being full of nature, whether you’re after majestic mountain views or beautiful beaches. Basically, you’re guaranteed to find a stunning spot for your wedding photoshoot. 

Which Other States Made Top 5?

Curious about which other states made our top five? Here are some other options you might want to consider when planning your wedding:

1. Utah

Amassing a total index score of 66 out of 100 and taking the top spot is Utah. This is largely down to the convenience of being able to find relevant wedding services for your big day. In fact, Utah ranks in the top five US states overall for the availability of event planners, jewelers, florists, and photographers!

The state also has the lowest divorce rate of all the US states at just 6.8% and the highest marriage rate at 55.8%. Therefore, it seems reasonable to assume that Utah is the place to get wed if you’re after a successful marriage. 

And if that’s not enough, Utah won’t disappoint when it comes to venues for your big day, as you can find all sorts of wonderful spots to host your wedding ceremony and reception. Whether that’s a farm in the countryside or somewhere else magical overlooking the mountains. 
 

2. Texas

Just missing out in second is Texas, having scored 63.9 in our index. It’s probably not too much of a surprise to see this state so high up considering the fact that there were over 185,000 weddings in this state in 2022 alone. 

As one of the biggest states in the US, couples will have endless options to choose from during the wedding planning process. The glorious summer weather is also another big draw, with an average of 5,137 hours of sunshine per year, the fifth highest of all the states in the US.

3. Colorado

In third scoring 60.3 is Colorado, with their position likely down to how easy it is to find experts to help with your big day, as it ranks the highest of all the US states for event planners. Organizing a wedding requires a lot of time, work, and effort, so being able to find someone to take that off of your hands is ideal. 

4. Florida

Right ahead of North Carolina for the best states to exchange vows is Florida, in fourth with an index score of 59.6. Weddings are certainly an expensive occasion, but according to our research, Florida has the cheapest average cost of our top five states at just $23,167. Ideal for any couples on a budget!  

As far as a summer wedding goes, the state certainly has some glorious weather with 4,589 hours of sunshine per year. However, it also ranks in the top five US states for rainfall (average of 54 inches per year). So, it’s probably best to do some research prior to setting a date.

Methodology

To discover which are the best states to say, “I do”, we acquired data on several key factors: Wedding Costs, Location Popularity, Weather, Service Availability and Marriage/Divorce Rates. These factors consisted of 12 individually weighted metrics, which added to the value of 100. 

• Wedding Costs = 25
  • Average Cost of a Wedding (25)
    • The average cost of a wedding from the Wedding Report taking into account multiple factors such as: Event Location and Venues, Entertainment, Attire & Accessories, Beauty Services, Ceremony Officiators, Event Catering & Bar Service, Event Rentals, Flowers & Decorations, Photography & Video, Planner/Coordinator, Transportation and more

• Location Popularity = 25
  • Google Searches for X Weddings in the US (20)
    • The total number of yearly searches for over 300 keywords related to weddings in the state, per Keywordtool.io.
  • Number of Wedding in 2022 (5)
    • The number of weddings which took place in that state during 2022, according to Wedding Report.

• Weather = 20
  • Average Rainfall in Inches (10) 
    • The average rainfall in inches per year, according to Google
  • Average Hours of Sunshine (10)
    • Annual average sunlight exposure, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• Service Availability = 15
  • Using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics “location quotient” (a measure used to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole), the services were scored accordingly: 
    • Event Planners (3)
    • Jewellers (3)
    • Florists (3)
    • Photographers (3)
    • Bakers (3)

• Marriage and Divorce Rates = 15
  • Divorce Rates (7.5)
    • Divorce rates by state, according to Wisevoter.
  • Marriage Rates (7.5) 
    • Marriage rates by state, according to Census data.

We combined the weighted scores of each factor, for each state, to provide a final index score out of 100. The higher the score, the better the state to tie the knot.