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Back to all photoblogsAt present, how high are the costs of organising a wedding in the UK? According to a recent article by the Guardian, the average wedding budget is approximately £ 21,000, but we were curious if this figure is a fair representation of what the average bride and groom are willing to pay for the realisation of their big day. We asked you brides on www.finalstitch.co.uk how much you spend for the organisation of the wedding. However, the 300 responses to our wedding budget survey show an astonishing result. Most couples don’t seem to be willing to spend as much as the Guardian’s report would suggest – according to our survey the average wedding budget is closer to £ 8,000.
So what could be the cause of this huge discrepancy? Is it possible that a new financial crisis driven trend is emerging towards conscientious saving on one’s wedding? Certainly, our research as shown in the chart below indicates that more than half of you participating brides on Finalstitch.co.uk indicate a spend significantly less than the sum of £ 8,000. Although the cost of the honeymoon is not included in this budget, a significant gap remains that needs clarification.
For many, the budget they should allow for their wedding day might be something of an unknown quantity. Never having married before, they won’t be aware of trends or even the myriad of options and services available to them. Even for those saying ‘I do’ once again, things may have moved on significantly since their previous ‘Big Day’. It would not be unreasonable to speculate therefore that couples planning a wedding may look to wedding agencies and wedding service providers for some indication of the ‘normal’ spend. In light of this, it is possible that to boost demand for their services these wedding agencies and service providers might communicate average wedding budgets that lie far above reality. Some couples might rely on this expert opinion and if they can afford to, may budget for a similar wedding spend.
As our survey result illustrates, for one third of you brides the £5,000 mark is the financial limit you are prepared to spend on the wedding. Many things need to fit into this budget: a wedding dress, a suit, shoes and accessories, the wedding rings, a photographer and the meal or buffet on the wedding night. Other items such as a special wedding location, a live band, elaborate wedding decorations or gifts for wedding guests run the risk of stretching the wedding budget.
It seems like you brides on Finalstitch.co.uk however take advantage of the many different possibilities that the internet provides today, and in doing so you certainly manage to keep costs relatively low. You exchange ideas and inspirations and enjoy the benefits of good advice and top tips on how to plan a wonderful and yet affordable wedding. Not surprisingly, a popular topic in the forum is the subject of how to save money and what the typical budget might be. Some of you brides may delay big household purchases or home improvements, if in doing so you can ensure that the wedding will not require to be postponed due to a lack of financial means. We have also discovered that couples often decide to invite a few more friends to the wedding rather than straining the wedding budget with expensive frills.
To us it seems that the relatively low wedding budget of the users on Finalstitch.co.uk derives also from the high personal commitment of you brides to the wedding preparations. Many of you put a lot of time and energy into planning your dream wedding and you are often able to make great cost savings by finding cheaper alternatives on the internet. Some of you brides like to give a more personal touch by making your own wedding stationery and planning and organising the decoration of the reception, wedding cars or the church. By taking such an active approach to the wedding plans brides can make great cost savings that would otherwise be paid to wedding service providers. The services of a wedding planner are therefore probably rarely called upon here on Finalstitch. Instead, families and friends are often involved in the wedding preparations: entire wedding meals may be prepared by grandmothers, mothers and aunts; skilled friends may be asked to be the wedding photographer and cameraman, and sometimes couples might ask a friend to demonstrate their DJ skills rather than pay for an expensive live band. An enormous amount can be saved on the cost of the wedding dress which can be ordered online from China or even ordered tailor-made during a holiday in Turkey or a similar destination.
Location of the wedding celebrations can also make a big impact on cost. In a restaurant for example, the celebration room is usually included in the price of the meal, but one might pay a lot more if the celebrations take place in a special venue such as a castle where neither service nor food are available. The cost of such a location and expenses for the catering might add significant additional costs.
Certainly, the other extreme still exists with regard to the wedding budget. In some cases the magic threshold of £ 21,000 is actually exceeded - but only for less than 3% of couples. They are willing to go to great expense to invite their large family at home and from abroad or for instance celebrate at a prestigious location.
The "national" wedding budget is substantial as every year about 270,000 weddings take place in the UK. The wedding industry is therefore worth well over £2 billion per annum. UK couples are not unlike their European counterparts and our identical surveys among 500 French and 500 German brides showed very similar results. Thanks to sites like www.finalstitch.co.uk, which operate throughout Europe, nowadays brides are able to support one another by exchanging ideas on how the hard-saved money for the wedding could be best invested. Greater quantities of useful information seem to offer the modern bride real cost savings in wedding planning – a trend we hope to see continue!
- Lucy -
