It seems the grim reality of the recession has affected even the most romantic event – weddings. It’s not often that prices come down rather than going up, up and up, but that’s what we’re seeing with weddings. In 2009 the average cost of a wedding was nearly £1,000 less than in 2008. The average wedding was still an eye watering £19,265 though!

So where does all this money go? Looking at an average wedding in 2009 we’ve produced a typical breakdown of where the budget would be spent.

If you’re just starting to plan your wedding you’ll find this breakdown useful as a starting point as it can be hard to create a budget without knowing what average costs per item are. Of course it’s always possible to cut costs in most areas, or conversely there may be some elements you want to blow the budget on!

The Wedding The Reception
Photography 750 Venue Hire, Food, Drink 4200
Videography 600 Evening Reception 1800
Ceremony 400 Wedding Cake 300
Transport 400 Entertainment 700
Gifts 300 Table Decorations/Favours 400
Flowers 700
Stationery 250
Seating Planning Tool 10 Honeymoon 3200
Wedding Insurance 60
Rings and Outfits
Engagement Ring 1500
Wedding Rings 800
Bride’s Outfit 1800
Attendants Outfit Hire 350 TOTAL £19,265
Groom’s Outfit Hire 200
Hair and Beauty 245


Once you’ve set your budget you then need to stick to it! Keep your budget estimate in an accessible place – either electronically or in a notebook, whichever appeals to you more and update with real figures as you book suppliers and purchase wedding items. It might be a good idea to keep some budget back as contingency in case you find something irresistible that you hadn’t planned on.

Whatever your spend on your wedding you’ll want to make sure you avoid paying for items twice – if there’s problem with your wedding dress or the venue goes bankrupt you’ll want the reassurance of wedding insurance. Wedding insurance will pay for the replacement items so that you don’t slip over your budget.