We spoke to Steve Prince, the General Manager at Paper Thames stationers, who ran a survey that found couples will not scrimp on their guest list in order to save money at their wedding.
Weddings on Female First
Why will couples not reduce the number of guests at their wedding over anything else?
When it comes down to it, it boils down to what weddings are fundamentally about: a couple sharing their commitment to each other in front of their friends and family. It’s not about the wedding dress designer, glacial wedding cakes or Michelin starred menus – and that’s why couples will sacrifice material things over their guest list. There’s rarely a grey area with guests; if you want somebody at your wedding, then you’ll do everything you can to have them there.
Why do you think the average number of guests is so high? (100)
Those who have planned a wedding will know that a guest list of 100 is pretty easy to get to. If anything the problem is keeping numbers down. Your wedding day is one of the most special days of your life and you want everyone you love and respect to share it with you. Then there’s Auntie Flo (who’s not really your Auntie), Cousin Kev (who still dresses like it’s 1983) and long lost Uncle Derrick (who you’ve not seen since you were knee-high to a grasshopper). All of whom you’ve got to invite anyway, just for the sake of your Mum who can’t bear the thought of upsetting anyone.
Why are honeymoons sacrificed to slash the budget as opposed to other elements of the wedding day?
Honeymoons are one of the first things to be slashed as they’re an easy way of saving a lot of money quickly. You can save a few pounds here and a few pounds there by changing things like your menu. But, by changing your honeymoon destination, you can save a few thousand pounds in an instance. For UK brides, a honeymoon to the Caribbean can require a budget in excess of £5,000, whereas going to the Mediterranean may require half that. As budgets have shrunk, many people have also taken to going on a ‘Mini-moon’ instead. Perhaps a European city break, or even a trip to the Cotswolds, with the intention of saving up and taking their main honeymoon at a later date.
Why do wedding venues decrease their prices during the week?
Demand for mid-week weddings is a lot lower than at the weekend. Traditionally, couples would rather wait for a weekend-slot than get married on say, a Wednesday. Often, the venues are empty during the week, so it makes sense for them to entice couples into having a midweek wedding by offering a cheaper rate. With budgets being a lot tighter over the past few years, it seems more couples are willing to entertain the idea of getting married during the week. What’s interesting is that this trend has continued as we’ve come out of recession, so perhaps couples are now placing less importance on getting married at a weekend.
What are naked cakes?
Naked cakes are quite a recent trend in the wedding industry. They are a lot simpler design than your traditional wedding cake; the layers of the cake are exposed as there is no icing or frosting covering the outside. What you end up with is a really nice, almost vintage finish. Naked cakes are cheaper than traditional iced wedding cakes as a huge amount of time is spent getting the cake covering just so.
What other ways are there to cut back on wedding costs?
There are endless ways you can cut back on wedding costs – some conventional, others need you to be a little more creative! Some of our favourites are:
- Stick to simple menus. Choose chicken instead of beef, opt for simple deserts and swap sparling evening buffets for sausage butties & chips.
- Swap champagne for sparkling wine. No one will know.
- Do your own music – ditch the DJ
- Simplify flowers – stick to flowers in season. Speak to your florist about cheap alternatives.
- Be inventive, make your own table decorations.
- Borrow a friend’s car for the bridal party
- Barter with your venue, try and get added value thrown in like chair covers and bargain hard for overnight accommodation costs.
How have budgets come to match those again from 2008?
As the economy starts to see the green shoots of economic recovery, confidence is beginning to return in consumer spending. Few industries demonstrate this more than the wedding industry with budgets now back to pre-credit crunch levels and it’s easy to imagine why. If people are going to start spending again, what better excuse that one of the single most important occasions of your life.
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