Funding wedding advice

noh

justme111 wrote: »

A couple of my friends had big birthday parties recently with the venues that accommodated 50+ guests easily and would be suitable for weddings with venues costing them a couple of hundreds pounds tops. So the argument that you need 8 k wedding venue if you have 50+ people invited does not hold the water.

Yep. Our wedding 5 years ago cost around £2.5k. The venue (a local hotel/inn) was free they did the buffet around £10 a head we had about 60 guests. The biggest single cost was the bar bill.

This year we had a 60th birthday party for my wife. £200 for the venue 90 odd guests buffet at £8 a head. £600 for the band and disco again the biggest single cost was the bar bill total around £3.5k

MallyGirl

Back in the day our venue for the wedding was free as we had the sit down reception and evening do there. The reception was a per head price so we could control costs by how many people we invited to it. I remember paying too much for some balloons that we really didn't need but the table flowers were roses in pots and some still grow in our garden. I remember getting sucked into discussions about fireworks and all sorts of rubbish but thankfully we didn't go for any of those extras. It would have been easy to get carried away (apart from the balloons which snuck in).

Zero_Sum

MaxiRobriguez wrote: »

4,000 survey says £27k is the new norm:

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/average-british-wedding-cost-uk-27000-hitched-venue-honeymoon-food-london-midlands-a7937551.html

I'm not here to seek sympathy or insults for my situation. The OP was asking about their wedding and the potential costs of it. £20k is less than most people are spending on their weddings (otherwise known as an average), so they either need to budget for more if they're expecting a certain level of lavishness, or they need to reduce expectations.

Of that £27k, £2k is engagement ring & nearly £4k on honeymoon

justme111

A price list for marriage

CatLady13

MaxiRobriguez wrote: »

I'm getting married in April and the bill is coming out to £24k. We're having an 'average' wedding and we're absolutely not lavishly spending without thinking about it. Unfortunately if you're purchasing something wedding related prices have spiraled in the last 15-20 years and many on here wouldn't understand unless they're actively involved with planning their children's wedding. I find it utterly disgusting and would quite happily have had a small pub gathering but the missus to be wanted a private hire and just by making that jump it takes you to minimum £20k we found.

To the op: If you think you're going to spend £20k, add 33%, and then add 10% inflation by the time you get there. Also, considering you're planning on getting married in 18 months then you won't want your money in investments, you'll want it in safe holdings. In your scenario you seem to have three choices, either go for a cheaper wedding, delay the wedding until you can afford what you want or use a cheap loan to bridge the gap but do so knowing the cost of that.

Every older person I've spoken to who've been married for years says it's not about the venue or the flowers or the meal or whatever, it's about family and friends celebrating. I wish my partner would listen to them!

£24k, ouch! My wedding was a registry office do followed by grub in a nearby pub and a DJ later on. Everyone had a great time, shame your other half does not want something like that but each to their own.

And for the record, this was about 13 years ago and cost around £2-3k I think. We re-used rings we already had and could not afford a honeymoon. Think the food and drink were the biggest expenses we had.

If I was to marry again, if I had my way, I would probably just have a private registry office with a few close friends and then maybe have a party for everyone else after if I even bothered to tell people (I do not see it as a big deal to be honest, the big deal is being with the person you love).

le_loup

I suspect that the big problem with expensive weddings is the Wedding Planner and Hello Magazine.

The more the planner gets you to spend the more commission they make and people are impressed by the cult of celebrity.

I am aware of a number of expensive weddings where the marriage lasts for a few short years.

Zero_Sum

Was looking at the breakdown of the £27k average & there is about £1k in there for a "mini moon" . What on earth is that about? Apparetly its a pre wedding mini break at a THOUSAND POUNDS. Just why?

Malthusian

MaxiRobriguez wrote: »

4,000 survey says £27k is the new norm:

4,000 surveyed by Hitched (a website that sells wedding advertising) overpaid for weddings. Possibly the most groundbreaking study since Professor Whiskas' discovery that 9 out of 10 cats didn't prefer Kitekat.

Who wants to be average? Average is worse than crap, per Sturgeon's law.

£20k is less than most people are spending on their weddings (otherwise known as an average), so they either need to budget for more if they're expecting a certain level of lavishness, or they need to reduce expectations.

They need to set a realistic budget, do some research and not get shafted by paying £20k to book some run of the mill golf club. While these threads inevitably draw out the "We paid tuppence ha'penny and made everything ourselves" responses (which by the way is absolutely great), it isn't necessary to spend £20k if you don't fancy DIYing or upcycling the whole shebang.

Zero_Sum wrote:

Of that £27k, £2k is engagement ring & nearly £4k on honeymoon

So the groom earns £24k and they're spending more than one entire year's worth of that on the wedding? Absolutely bonkers. The engagement ring is supposed to be there forever, the wedding is just a party.

DD265

I preferred to pay for most things as they were booked, or at least as soon as we had the funds for the balance. For that reason I preferred to have the money in an online saver with instant access. The sums weren't big enough to make much in interest anyway.

We never actually set a budget. We worked out what we wanted (and did admittedly get sticker shock a few times) then how much it'd cost, and decided whether we were willing/able to pay for it. Usually this involved giving something up, be it another wedding related thing or maybe skipping a weekend away with friends.

Zero_Sum

Malthusian wrote: »

So the groom earns £24k and they're spending more than one entire year's worth of that on the wedding? Absolutely bonkers. The engagement ring is supposed to be there forever, the wedding is just a party.

I agree its still bonkers (there's another £2k to take off for the rings & pre wedding holiday) but just highlihting that the headline figure isnt just for the actual day.

I struggle to believe these figures anyway, as most just couldnt afford anywhere near that, and for every person who spends £30k there'll be one who has the do at the local social club & honeymoon AI in Benidorm. I reckon the real average will be less than half that.