Why Atlanta is one of the best US cities for your wedding
December is the most popular month to get engaged, so there are a lot of couples in Atlanta now thinking about where to hold their ceremony.
Lucky for them, they live in one of the best cities in the United States to have a wedding, according to personal finance website WalletHub.
» Best places to have an outdoor wedding in Atlanta
To help the newly engaged find the best place to get hitched, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across three key dimensions: costs, facilities and services, and activities and attractions. Within those three dimensions, WalletHub analyzed 27 relevant metrics, from photo booth rental to weather. Each metric was graded on a 100 point score, with 100 being the best.
The best city is home to the happiest place on Earth. Orlando, Florida, came out on top with a score of 72.15. In last place was Pearl City, Hawaii, with a score of just 7.89.
Atlanta claimed the No. 4 spot, scoring 64.32.
In the three dimensions, Atlanta ranked:
- Costs: No. 54
- Facilities and services: No. 7
- Activities and attractions: No. 13
Within those dimensions, the city finished:
- 72nd – average wedding cost
- 35th – wedding chapels anc churches per capita
- 86th – event planners per capita
- 6th – bridal shops per capita
- 8th – flower Shops per capita
- 1st – venues and event spaces per capita
- 19th – number of attractions
- 4th – hotels per capita
- 16th – musicians and DJs per capita
- 8th – videographers and photographers per capita
Atlanta's top ranking for wedding venues should surprise no one, considering we have the Fox Theatre, Swan House, Wimbish House and Rhodes Hall, just to name a few locations.
Last year, Green Wedding Shoes named the Ruins at Barnsley Resort one of the "coolest" places to have a wedding. The venue is about an hour northwest of Atlanta.
And Brides.com named the Biltmore Ballrooms one of the best places in the country to have a wedding.
Atlanta, which was also ranked No. 4 last year, isn't the only Georgia city to appear on WalletHub's ranking.
Augusta finished No. 72, with a score of 48.15, and Columbus came in at No. 94, with a score of 44.85. Both cities improved their ranking over last year, when they were 87th and 115th, respectively.
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About the Author
Nancy Clanton is a lead producer for The AJC's platforms team, but also writes stories about health, travel, events and entertainment. A native of Knoxville and graduate of the University of Tennessee, she has worked at the AJC for 24 years.
