I was proposed to on the 9th June 2012 and we are not getting married until 25th May 2014, all because we wanted the time to be able to save for everything and pay off certain elements of the wedding in instalments.
Weddings on Female First
Generating enough money to put down deposits for everything in the first few weeks is hard, as the venue can cost the most to secure, however other elements of the wedding need guarantees that you will require their service on the day. These include the DJ, the hair and make-up artist and the florist to name a few. Luckily some establishments will offer a direct debit service to pay for things gradually such as the jeweller for your rings, which means that you will not be burdened with a huge bill at the end of your special day.
Voucher codes pro has found that the average engagement has been stretched out by another two years because of the increasing costs of weddings, making the wait generally around three years to get married. This was compared to the figures from 10 years ago where the average length of time was only 11 months.
Many respondents would ideally like to have their weddings sooner but with the costs it is simply not an option until they have waited to save up for their big day.
When everything was taken in account, such as dresses, hen and stag parties and the honeymoon, it was found that on average couples now spend £19,700 on their wedding, which is often more than one of the pair makes in a year, making the need to save imperative.
Ten years ago, the average cost of a wedding was £9,500, which was often subsidised by the couple’s parents helping out with the coat, however today couples are more likely to pay for their weddings themselves.
We break this mould as we are splitting the wedding costs three ways, between us, and both sets of parents, which has eased the pressure from everyone and is another option if you don’t want to go down the traditional ‘the bride’s parents pay for it all’ route.
When budget lists were broken down it was found that the top five costs in a wedding were the venue and catering, the honeymoon, the rings, the dresses and suits and entertainment.
George Charles, spokesperson for Voucher Codes Pro.co.uk said the following on the results of the study:
“It is no secret that we are now waiting until later on in our lives to settle down and get married, but it seems that even that is becoming increasingly hard considering the average couple won’t get much change from twenty grand nowadays for a wedding!”
He continued:
“The results of our study really do highlight the pressure that young couples are under these days to have the dream ‘fairy-tale wedding’ that can better friends’ and family members’ previous attempts. After analysing the findings, I can’t help but wonder if, instead of a tradition focused on promising to devote your life to one person for eternity, a wedding is now considered to be a very expensive party or popularity contest.”
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