As wedding service costs continue to climb year after year, a growing number of couples in Korea are breaking away from traditional wedding ceremonies. More couples are now considering “no wedding”—skipping the ceremony altogether and simply registering their marriage.
According to the Korea Consumer Agency, the nationwide average wedding hall rental fee stood at 3 million won as of December last year. Regional prices varied widely, with Jeju offering the lowest rates at 1.24 million won, while Seoul’s Gangnam district commanded fees as high as 6.81 million won. This means couples must pay millions of won in rental fees alone for a ceremony lasting roughly one hour.
The overall financial burden of marriage remains substantial. A survey of 500 wedding service providers across 14 regions nationwide found that total wedding service costs averaged 20.86 million won as of October last year. Wedding venue costs accounted for the largest portion at 15 million won, down 5.1% from 15.8 million won in August but still representing the biggest expense.
Among individual items, venue rental fees showed the steepest decline, dropping from 3.5 million won to 3 million won. Meal costs also fell 4.7%, from 15.8 million won to 15 million won. The “S-D-M package”—combining studio photography, dress rental, and makeup—dipped slightly to 2.9 million won, though standalone studio photography prices actually rose 5.3% to 1.39 million won.
With such significant costs required for a ceremony lasting just over an hour, some couples are choosing to forgo weddings entirely. There is a growing recognition that couples would rather commemorate their marriage in personally meaningful ways than expend energy on ceremonial formalities.
According to a 2024 marriage perception survey by matchmaking company Gayeon, four in ten unmarried men and women said they would skip a wedding ceremony “if their partner agreed.” Another 11.4% responded that a wedding “isn’t really necessary,” meaning 49.2% of all respondents held negative views toward holding a wedding ceremony.
“Younger generations feel more burdened by wedding costs than before and increasingly prioritize practical benefits and personal satisfaction,” an industry official said. “More people are choosing to skip or simplify weddings to invest in things like purchasing their own home.”
This trend is also emerging overseas. In Japan, various alternative wedding formats have gained popularity: “nashi-kon” (marriage registration without a ceremony), “photo-kon” (substituting photography for a wedding), “at-home weddings” (small-scale ceremonies held at home), and “jimi-kon” (modest small weddings). There is even “solo wedding” for those choosing to remain unmarried.
The Yomiuri Shimbun analyzed this trend as “reflecting a shift toward maximizing resource efficiency compared to the bubble economy era of the 1980s.”
In the United States, weddings with drastically reduced guest counts are also increasing to cut costs. “Micro weddings” with around 50 guests and “minimony weddings” with fewer than 10 guests are prime examples. According to “2025 Wedding Trends” released by overseas wedding directory Celebrant Directory, searches for “micro wedding” increased 24.14% over the past year. “Elopement,” referring to private, couple-centered weddings, also rose 10% year-on-year and is now searched more than 250,000 times monthly.
