- Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos discussed the “micro wedding” trend on Live With Kelly and Mark.
- “This is the year of the cost-effective wedding. Ceremonies are out, parties are in,” Ripa said.
- She and Consuelos spent under $200 on their Las Vegas nuptials.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are here for the “micro wedding” trend. On the August 20 episode of Live With Kelly and Mark, they shared some financial advice for soon-to-be-married couples.
“Weddings are having a micro trend in 2026,” Ripa said. “Tiny. A quirky cake. No big ceremony. Candles over flowers. Cost effectiveness. This is the year of the cost-effective wedding. Ceremonies are out, parties are in.”
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“So they’ll do a small ceremony and then a big party. Buffets are back on the menu, for cost-effective reasoning. They’re cheap, they’re cheerful and they’re returning to wedding venues,” she explained.
“Brides are opting [for] secondhand wedding dresses. Because let’s face it: nothing’s been worn less than a wedding dress. Unless it’s my wedding dress, which now doubles as a beach cover-up,” Ripa continued.
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Consuelos chimed in to say that spending a massive amount on parties, flowers, rings, and dresses is “ridiculous.”
“It never made sense to me, which is why we eloped,” he said, referencing his low-key wedding to Ripa. “At the time, it didn’t make sense to either one of us. We’re like, ‘That’s ridiculous.’”
“We should start a wedding service,” Ripa joked.
“They want a big wedding and they come to us for counseling. We’re like, ‘Don’t do it,’” Consuelos replied. “You could buy a house, you could have equity in your future.”
Ripa recalled that they spent just $179 on their Las Vegas nuptials, “including airfare.” In 1996, she and Consuelos tied the knot after one year of dating.
As for Ripa’s dress? She scored it “off-the-rack” at Barney’s—and she wasn’t kidding when she said she still wears it as a cover-up: “I took the tags off to wear it to our wedding and I wear it all the time now,” Ripa told People last year.
