CLEVELAND — Tariffs could possibly affect couples on one of their most important days, their wedding.

What You Need To Know

  • Noteriety Invitations has been making wedding invitations for 30 years

  • An Ohio wedding will cost just over $28,000 on average

  • Increased tariffs could impact wedding budgets

In Cleveland, couples at a bride show sought vendors as their big day approaches.

Amy Finkenthel is the owner of Noteriety Invitations, and she’s been making wedding invitations for 30 years. Helping create that special day for her clients.

With such an important day, Finkenthel knows there’s a lot of planning and money that goes into it. She tries her best to keep her prices competitive, but the tariff increase could make that difficult in the future.

“Two of my biggest accounts, one is in China, one is in India,” said Finkenthel. “The one in India is probably the biggest paper provider in the invitation world, worldwide, and we are all very worried.”

Finkenthel isn’t the only person worried. Bride-to-be Monica Thompson said these increased tariffs could affect her budget, and she’s not sure where or if she will cut costs.

“You’re either going to have to increase that budget for that dress, or you’re going to have to make those cuts somewhere else in your wedding suit in order to afford that dress,” said Thompson.

The increase in tariffs means some brides will have to make some difficult decisions.

“Sacrifice some other part of your vision that, you know, brides even in dreaming about their wedding their whole life,” said Thompson. “And they don’t want to have to make these sacrifices, at least. But they want to have their big perfect day.”

Thompson’s wedding is next May, so she has time to shop around and hopefully find what she is looking for within her budget. She hopes to buy a local wedding dress but knows if the fabric is imported, her dress is going to cost more money than expected.

For Finkenthel, she is taking it one day at a time, putting her clients first and trying not to worry about her business.

“I feel like there were so many things happening at the same time, and this was so scary, and I’m tracking it a lot more now than I have been, because now it is very real,” said Finkenthel.

According to wedding planning website the knot, the average Ohio wedding will cost you just over $28,000, which is less than the national average of $33,000 or $284 a guest.