你会为自己的婚礼花多少钱?

That's because the biggest cost of every dollar you spend is invisible. It's all the money you'd accumulate if you saved it instead. Over long periods, this cost dwarfs the mere sticker price, often by a factor of several times.

Do the math. The typical bride is just 26 at her first wedding, according to the U.S. Census. She has four decades or more to save.

If her savings earn 4% a year above inflation over the long haul, each dollar she spends now is actually taking $5-in today's terms-out of her lifetime savings. If her money earns 6% a year above inflation, an estimate that is challenging but not ridiculous, she is taking out $11.

Per dollar spent.

Yes, this is real. Today millions are, of course, struggling to make ends meet. There is an unsung national crisis among those nearing retirement with very little set aside. Someone in their 50s today would have an extra $100,000 if they'd saved just $5,000 more 30 years ago.

Food for thought.

Ms. Roney has some tips for those looking to cut costs without making the big day a bust.

First, the don'ts: Don't have a cash bar ('it's not acceptable, even in a recession,' says Ms. Roney), don't get a friend to take the official pictures, and don't cut back on waiters at the reception-or some of your guests will end up waiting an extra hour for their food.

Dos? You can save '$500 here, $1,000' there by smartly cutting corners-from producing your own invitations and programs to serving a smaller wedding cake. Use a DJ instead of a band. Switch the wedding from Saturday to another night, and hold it off season. Hire a younger photographer. But the biggest way to save, she says, is simply to invite fewer people.

Remember: Every dollar you save will be make you richer by $5, $10 or even more down the road.

People who spend more aren't more married at the end of it. The analysis I would really love to see would be one comparing the amount spent on the wedding and the likelihood of divorce.

Hmmm. I wonder what it would show?