A destination-ish wedding with a hint of nostalgia: Jersey Shore weddings have become booming business

After Jeanine Wells got engaged on a Cape May beach last fall, she knew she wanted to get married there too, in her “happy place.”

But the question for Wells and her fiancé, Nick Pomper, was whether they could swing a Shore wedding financially.

After touring venues and comparing prices in Philadelphia and Cape May, they learned their dream wedding down the Shore would only cost a few thousand dollars more — a relatively small difference in the world of modern weddings, which in the U.S. cost $33,000 on average.

So for their May 2025 wedding, they chose the Inn of Cape May over Center City venues.

“As much as I love Philadelphia, Cape May was always my escape,” said Wells, a 30-year-old Fishtown resident.

The high-end Shore wedding industry has exploded over the past decade, catering largely to people like Wells who live within driving distance and have personal connections to the area.

About 7,200 couples got married in the Jersey Shore area in 2023, up from 4,800 in 2019, according to data from wedding planning website The Knot, based on locations listed on users’ wedding websites.

And they’re paying a premium: A formal Jersey Shore wedding in June 2026 with 100 to 150 guests is expected to cost between $40,000 and $50,000 on average, while the same type of wedding in Philadelphia would cost between $38,000 and $47,000, according to The Wedding Report, which used market research and surveys to build a cost estimator.

In two of the Shore’s swankiest zip codes, Avalon and Stone Harbor, several upscale wedding venues have opened in recent years.

In 2013, The Reeds at Shelter Haven moved into a picturesque bayside spot in downtown Stone Harbor. Since then, the boutique hotel has hosted about 70 weddings a year, with each couple paying $25,000 to $60,000, according to general manager Henry Bromley.

A mile away, the Icona Avalon opened a few years after the Reeds, occupying a full block on the site of the former Golden Inn hotel. In 2021, Icona bought a neighboring hotel, the Windrift, a long-standing institution with several restaurants and bars. On a prime season Saturday at Icona Avalon, wedding receptions start at more than $40,000, according to venue pricing information shared by a bride who held her wedding there. (Icona did not respond to repeated requests for comment).

New and established Shore venues are looking to expand beyond the traditional wedding season of May to October, advertising deals and touting the increased intimacy that comes with an off-peak wedding. For venue executives, winter weddings — even at discounted rates — can be big money makers during otherwise slow times, bringing in revenue not just from the wedding events but also from the influx of hotel guests.

At the historic Flanders Hotel in Ocean City, November and December weddings have become increasingly popular. Many couples are drawn to the holiday decor at the hotel and around town, said Lisa Torquati, the hotel’s director of catering.

May, June, September, and October remain the most popular wedding months, Torquati said, but “we just have found different ways to make other parts of the year … more appealing,” including discounts. Flanders weddings range from $10,000 to $50,000, she said, depending in part on the time of year.

The Reeds at Shelter Haven, which is also a hotel, takes a “pause” from weddings during its busy season, from July to Labor Day, Bromley said.

During the offseason, “we still have the beautiful view,” Bromley said. But “those parties will be less encumbered by our regular hotel guests. It brings on a more intimate feel for wedding guests in those months.”

In the less traditional wedding months, The Reeds also offers per-person rates closer to $175, compared to $232 during the peak season (an $8,550 savings for a 150-person event).

The Reeds has two weddings booked this coming February, Bromley said, and two in March.

From spring through fall down the Shore, the wedding business is booming. Costs soar on everything from the wedding itself to the hotel rooms that guests need to book months in advance.

According to past and future Shore brides, venue executives, and wedding vendors, couples — often with financial help from their families — are willing to pay these prices so they can get the best of all worlds.

It’s a destination-ish wedding, they say, but one that doesn’t require a plane ride or a week of PTO for most guests.

Long Beach Island wedding photographer Alexa Englesbe said many of her clients originally planned weddings in far-flung places, “and either it didn’t work out or they didn’t realize how many logistics go into a destination wedding.”

“I feel like eight out of 10 people you ask ‘Where is your happy place?’ and they’ll say by the water,” said Englesbe, owner of Alexa Lynn Photography.

The location is sometimes sentimental, too.

“Growing up, I remember sitting on the beach with my grandparents and saying, ‘I am going to get married down here some day,’” said Cassidy Bonner, a 26-year-old Doylestown native.

Bonner’s grandparents died a couple years ago, but they’ve been on her mind as she plans a November wedding at the Icona Windrift. Her parents are helping her pay for the event, and she chose the late fall date because it offered significant savings compared to, say, September.

“We definitely picked a middle-of-the-road option,” said Bonner. “I’m just hoping, fingers crossed, it’s not too chilly.”

For Maura and Jake Hoch, the Icona Avalon “just had everything that we wanted,” including a full-service resort, space for multiple wedding events, and other hotels within walking distance, Maura said. When they toured venues near their home in Pittsburgh, “we didn’t feel the same spark.”

Their 200-person wedding at the Icona this June probably cost more per-person than a Pittsburgh venue would have, Maura said. But, she added, had they married in Pittsburgh, it’s likely more of their 300 invitees would have attended, driving up the total cost.

“The Shore was probably more expensive initial-ticket-wise,” said Maura, a 32-year-old retail buyer. “But for me, it kind of was a wash.”

Other couples have opted for less opulent venues.

Michele and Nick Barrett married in October 2023 with a ceremony at the Sunset Lake Gazebo in Wildwood Crest and a reception at The Inlet in North Wildwood.

Cost was top of mind for the Washington Township couple, especially given Michele’s large extended family and their 150-person guest list.

But “luckily The Inlet was within the budget,” said Michele Barrett, a 42-year-old mammography technologist. Per-person wedding prices there were nearly $100 less than at venues like The Reeds and Icona.

Michele and Nick, a 44-year-old union foreman, still got the Shore vibes they wanted. After the ceremony, they took photos on the boardwalk, stopping at Mack’s Pizza just like they always do on summer Sundays before driving home.

As she bit into a slice, still wearing her floral-embroidered off-the-shoulder gown and fingertip veil, “it was like, ‘Yeah, this feels right,’” Michele said.