25,000 Weddings Later: What We've Learned About How People Actually Celebrate

Consider this our thank-you card to every couple who said 'I do' with us.

Six of the ten most-asked questions in the history of our app involve someone shedding a tear: the groom, the bride, a parent, the wedding party. In its many forms (sometimes phrased as "Will the groom cry when the bride walks down the aisle?" and oftentimes personalized with the couple's actual names, like "Will Ben cry when Michelle walks down the aisle?"), this one question has been asked at more than 12,000 weddings.

This is the kind of thing you only learn when 25,000 couples trust you to deliver on their wedding day.

By the Numbers

Somewhere in those numbers is a groom crying, a bride smashing cake, an officiant cracking a joke, and a flower girl going rogue down the aisle. Probably all at the same wedding.

The Top 10 Wedding Bets in America

Ranked by how many couples have added each to their event:

1. 1Will the groom cry when the bride walks down the aisle?
2. 2Who will cry first?
3. 3Will the bride have a veil?
4. 4Will any of the wedding party cry when the bride walks down the aisle?
5. 5Will the bride have an outfit change?
6. 6Will the officiant make a joke in the opening remarks?
7. 7Will the bride wear flats or heels under her dress?
8. 8How long will the first kiss be?
9. 9Will the bride and groom write and recite their own vows?
10. 10Will the bride or groom smash cake on the other's face?

Couples: you are not unique. Which is actually the point. A wedding is a ritual, and rituals rhyme. What our data reveals is the emotional shape of that ritual, the moments couples want everyone paying attention to. It's almost never the flowers or the food. It's the crying, the kiss, the cake.

The Busiest Weekend in the History of Our App

In a single October weekend in 2025, more than 300 weddings ran Betting on the Wedding across the country.

Picture it. Somewhere around 8 p.m. local time, give or take a few hours across time zones, hundreds of first dances started. Hundreds of officiants delivered their opening remarks. Hundreds of fathers of the bride tried, and mostly failed, not to cry.

We went back and checked the runner-ups. The September 20, 2025 weekend. The October 25, 2025 weekend. A pattern emerged, and it isn't subtle.

When Americans Actually Get Married

Wedding magazines have their opinions. We have 25,000 weddings.

Here's how real weddings are distributed across the calendar year, based on our data.

September is the #1 wedding month in America. October is a close second. August is third. The peak of wedding season isn't June. It hasn't been June in a long time. It's autumn. Cooler weather, changing leaves, perfect light for photos, and, per our own data, the exact weekends couples lock in years ahead.

The slowest months? January and February. No one is surprised by this except, possibly, florists.

Weddings Are Global. So Are We.

Betting on the Wedding has powered weddings in the UK, Australia, Germany, South Africa, India, Italy, Norway, Mexico, Ireland, New Zealand, France, Nigeria, Sweden, the Netherlands, Brazil, Turkey, Switzerland, Portugal, Belgium, Greece, Denmark, and Austria, with predictions placed in more than 20 currencies.

At one Italian wedding, the entire bet board was in Italian. Questions about the length of the bride's heels, the color of the father-of-the-groom's shoes, the region of origin of the red wine served at dinner. We don't have an Italian translation of our app. The couple wrote every question themselves.

The Custom Bets Are Where It Gets Beautiful

Our suggested bets are good. Our couples' custom bets are better. A sample of real bets, written by real couples for real weddings:

• "Will the pugs walk down the aisle?"
• "How many cannolis will Sabrina eat?"
• "Will someone do the worm during the reception?"
• "Will Mr. Brightside be played at the reception?"
• "Over/under 4.5 kisses from glass clinks?"
• "How many bridesmaids will take off their shoes by the end of the reception?"
• "Will the maid of honor reference Taylor Swift in her speech?"
• "Will espresso martinis be served at the reception?"
• "Will it rain during the ceremony?"
• "Will the baarat leave on time?"
• "Lieblingsdrink der Braut (German: "the bride's favorite drink")"
• "Sangeet: Will anyone cry during their speech?"
• "Kommer Sindre til å bytte antrekk til festen? (Norwegian)"

More than 40,000 bets like this. Each one a tiny love letter to the specific people sitting around a specific couple on their specific day.

This is the part of the job that doesn't feel like work.