Events

The Knot puts the average wedding venue at $12,900; Zola’s venue-only figure is $8,573. The gap is catering. Here is what each number counts, what the add-on fees really are, and why a mandatory service charge is not a tip.

Ask for a full gallery rather than a portfolio, confirm who is actually shooting, check whether a credential is real and verifiable, and read what the contract licenses you to do. The checks that matter take an afternoon.

The Knot puts the national average at $3,000; Zola’s index puts it at $4,400. Both are right, for different definitions of average. Here is what drives the gap, what packages actually include, and the copyright question almost no couple asks.