Britain
If you’re attending a wedding this year, the chances are you won’t be able to recognise the bride, as results from a new survey have revealed that an increasing number of women are turning to ‘Bridalplasty’ to enhance their looks on their big day.
Taken from the Wedding Report, a survey of over 5,000 brides compiled by Confetti.co.uk, the report highlighted that today’s brides are no longer willing to hide behind their veils, seeing their big day as an opportunity to fix what it is they don’t like about their appearances and go under the knife.
In-fact, of those questioned, more than half (51%) lust after for the perfect smile, opting to have expensive teeth whitening treatments and veneers before their big day, whilst one in ten admit to splashing out on cosmetic surgery such as Botox and breast augmentation.
Commissioned to identify current trends in weddings, another key finding taken from The Wedding Report has revealed that the days of the father of the bride picking up the cost of their daughters big day have fallen by the wayside, as more than two thirds (67%) of engaged couples foot the full cost of their big day themselves, and only 20 per cent of brides’ parents stick with tradition and pick up the tab.
Despite splashing out on appearances, the Wedding Report did reveal that today’s average bride is making cutbacks, with61 per cent spending less than £10,000 on their big day - half the average amount spent in 2008, at the start of the recession.
George Buchan, father of the bride at Confetti, said: "Unfortunately the fall in the average wedding spend is a direct indication of the difficult economic times we face, but what is encouraging is that today’s brides aren’t letting this spoil their plans.
"The report has revealed that rather than going without, today’s brides are going for the personal touch and taking on more of the work themselves to save costs, making their own stationery, decorations, cakes and bouquets.
"It’s also interesting that today’s brides are doing away with age old traditions and are picking up the cost of their big day themselves. I’m sure there will be lots of dads up and down the country sighing with relief!"
The Wedding Report looks at all areas of wedding planning and organisation including favours, stationery, time of year, ceremony, guests, gifts and honeymoons. As a result, Confetti has compiled the following ‘What’s Hot and What’s Not’ list for weddings in 2012:
What’s Hot?
- Spring/Summer wedding dates - 74% of couples will opt to host their big day at this time of year.
- Matrons! The days of many ‘cute’ bridesmaids following brides down the aisle are over with most brides choosing attendees between 18-30 years of age
- Purple colour themes - One fifth (18%) of couples are opting for this regal hue
- Homemade stationery - Two thirds (62%) of couples will make their own stationery
- Favours - 87% of couples will give favours
What’s Not?
- Big budget celebrations - only 5% of couples will spend more than £20,000
- Rushed preparations - only 15% of brides will spend less than year planning their big day
- Peach colour themes - only 1% of brides choose peach
- Foreign weddings - Less than a tenth(8%) of brides are choosing to go further afield
- Gift lists - most couples will ask for a contribution to their honeymoon or cash instead
The Wedding Report is available to download in full from www.confetti.co.uk