Wedding Budget

This is probably one of the most taboo subjects to possibly discuss but this makes it even more important. To write this article, I spent a little time doing some research on statistics and I was shocked to find that in 2019 (I’m ignoring 2020), the average wedding cost £32,000*. That’s a fair old chunk of change!

Katie & I got married in 2010 and clocked up a bill of around £15,000, we think… we don’t know for sure as people were generous and helped us out with a few things. We had about 85 guests to the ceremony and wedding breakfast then 140 to the evening do. We had a wedding car, a band and stayed over.

Plan, plan and plan again

What do I mean by this? Work out what you want and how much you have to spend.

As you start booking suppliers, update your plan to show the overall costs, the deposits paid, balance outstanding. I’ve drafted a handy example here

Savings, not credit

Hmmm, now I sound like your Dad...

Do you really want to saddle yourself with a load of debt when you are just really starting your journey together? Save up for your big day, don’t just stick it on a credit card and hope.

In 10 years time, you want to look back and say “that was one of the best days of my life” and not “that’s the reason we can’t afford a deposit on that new house we want because we are still paying off the wedding loan.”

Make a schedule of payments

Knowing when payments are due and to whom will help you budget (and save) for your wedding.

Keep record

Get receipts for payments so you have records and know what you have paid out. There is nothing worse than getting a last minute bill that you have forgotten about.

Let’s look at some ways of keeping costs down...

There are a number of ways to keep your budget on an even keel. Please read my next chapter…