How Much Does a Broken Engagement Cost?

Jeffrey Dean Morgan might play Mary Louise Parker’s deceased husband on Weeds, (CBS) but it looks like their real life romance will never make it to the alter.

According to recent reports, the on-again off-again couple who became engaged in February, are officially kaput, for now. This is far from the 41-year-old star’s first unlucky attempt at love. (In 2003, Parker grabbed headlines when actor Billy Crudup said sayonara after eight years together, not only leaving the actress solo, but seven months pregnant as well.)

Deciding to say ‘au revoir’ rather than ‘I do’ is never a casual decision. Still, there is truth to the saying goes it’s “better a broken engagement today, than a broken home tomorrow.” So when is the best time to break an engagement? Sooner than later. Putting the kibosh on your nuptials as early as possible will save you the most time and money. That is because with each month you wait, the chance that you will lose your wedding-related security deposits increases.

A wedding this year will cost an average of $28,800, according to The Wedding Report. About 35% of the total wedding cost is the reception, and usually at a venue that requires a hefty deposit. Reception sites generally fall into two categories: the all inclusive package (typical of hotel fetes) that include the space, food, tables, linens and silverware and the singular room rental charge, for which you are then responsible to coordinate and pay-for all of the details yourself.

If you are cancelling your reception it is best to do it six months in advance. After the six month mark backing out usually costs you more. For example, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, a popular waterfront wedding venue in New York, will give you a full refund six or more months in advance (minus a $500 cancellation fee). Cancel between two and six months and you'll get half back. Pull the party plug with less than two months to go and all you’re left with is a broken heart. “Getting a decreasing percentage of your deposit is more common with venues than vendors,” says Barbara Clark of An Elegant Affair, based in Raleigh, N.C.