Average Cost of UK wedding

Curious_George_2

sammy_wheeler wrote: »

really shocked by eric panthers break down! so many things i could spend that money on!!

I think i would be more shocked if it was real
sounds like a celebrity wedding breakdown to me, but then they get paid for by ok magazine so the actual cost is £0k

talulahbeige_2

Ours ended up being about £13.5k which included honeymoon and spends.

We only did the invites and table decorations ourselves (very simple) but i didnt have bridesmaids and we didnt go over the top.

csh_2

Epic_panther wrote: »

Exclusive venue, food and drinks package - £170 per head * 120 guests = 21k
Dress and suit hire - 3k
flowers -1k
extra wine (corkage) - 2k
honeymoon - 4k
bridesmaids dresses - £0.4k
band and string quartet - 2k
photographer - 1.5k
wedding rings - 1.5k
hair/beauty - 0.2k
stationary - 0.2k
chair covers - 0.2k
cake - 0.3k

roughly 36k

Curious_George wrote: »

I think i would be more shocked if it was real
sounds like a celebrity wedding breakdown to me, but then they get paid for by ok magazine so the actual cost is £0k

I don't think it sounds like a celebrity wedding at all! The only bit I'd object to of those figures is the £170 a head wedding breakfast and 2k wine corkage. I have to say everything else on that list is on par with the 'average' that is bandied about.

clearing_out_my_pockets

Ours is £9k plus a £2k honeymoon. That's for 69 people sitting down for the wedding breakfast and an extra 100 in the evening.

VICSH

It seems like the average on this is about 7k.
I hate that 20k average wedding quote it is really unrealistic and the media band it around all the time and it scares people. Wedding cost as little or as much as you want and can afford people should feel pressurised to 'keep up with the jones'.
Friends of mine have been given £15,000 by their parents and they are still saving hard to have the wedding of their dreams (£30k budget) when I speak to her I dont feel her wedding will be better, just different!

minerva_windsong

VICSH wrote: »

It seems like the average on this is about 7k.
I hate that 20k average wedding quote it is really unrealistic and the media band it around all the time and it scares people. Wedding cost as little or as much as you want and can afford people should feel pressurised to 'keep up with the jones'.
Friends of mine have been given £15,000 by their parents and they are still saving hard to have the wedding of their dreams (£30k budget) when I speak to her I dont feel her wedding will be better, just different!

I agree! I was reading an article in a magazine the other day about three couples who were getting married on the same day as the royal wedding, and one had a budget of £1,500 and the other two's budgets were around £25k. The cheaper one sounded much nicer than the others. (Although I hasten to add that I'm sure there are plenty of lovely more expensive weddings...)

I'm a looong way off getting married myself but because there'll probably be a lot of guests (I have a big family and my OH has a lot of close family friends he'd want there) I'm expecting the venue to cost a fortune, so I'm planning to economise in other ways like getting my dad's cousin to make my dress, making the cake myself, only having one bridesmaid, not hiring a car if possible, doing my own make up, asking my mum to make the stationery etc.

Enchantica

Interesting thread.

My wedding is coming in at around £8.5k all in, then the honeymoon at an estimated £5k which includes spending money. Although I've budgeted spending money at £3k and that may be too much... So if we have money left over after then that would be good but if not then that's ok too. My parents are paying for £8k of the wedding, we paid £500 plus we are paying for our honeymoon to Florida for 10 days. Disney World of course!

When my parents said they were paying for the whole thing, a few things got added in. Originally we were paying for it ourselves, then they were going to pay half and now they are paying for most of it. So we have added in a band, nicer centrepieces, charity favours and canapes. We weren't going to have all that before if we were paying for it. I think Dad wants his daughter to have a fab wedding Which is really generous. I'm so grateful.

Epic_panther

170 per head is not bad considering the venue we have chosen. other equivalents were 10-12k just for hire - then you add 50-90 per head on top of that - nets out the same

i can believe c.20k average - weddings are really expensive

but the important point is that you pay what you can afford

35k is a lot of cash but we'll save that from 4 -5 months earnings since we earn well...in that respect it is quite an affordable wedding - and we are very particular on the venue - the rest of things there is a wide choice / competition.....

sammy_wheeler

eric i have to say that is a pile of rubbish!
you do know the marriage is the important thing not wasting money!
thats all im going to say about it

shellsuit

Epic_panther wrote: »

170 per head is not bad considering the venue we have chosen. other equivalents were 10-12k just for hire - then you add 50-90 per head on top of that - nets out the same

i can believe c.20k average - weddings are really expensive

but the important point is that you pay what you can afford

35k is a lot of cash but we'll save that from 4 -5 months earnings since we earn well...in that respect it is quite an affordable wedding - and we are very particular on the venue - the rest of things there is a wide choice / competition.....

I agree with that

If you can afford it and it makes you both happy then go for it.