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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 2008, the average cost of a UK wedding was over £20,000. However, in 2011 the average cost of getting married has dropped by a massive 25% to £15,500.
The economic downturn has resulted in couples cutting back on guest numbers and doing away with some of those ‘nice to have’ little extras, reducing the average budget by around £5,000.
The Average Cost of a 2011 Wedding
It was our recent analysis into wedding insurance that highlighted this big drop in average wedding cost.
We studied the data from the sale of over 2,000 wedding insurance policies and found that couples were purchasing wedding insurance to cover weddings for, on average, £12,541 of cover in respect of complete cancellation. We then just had to add to this figure the £3,000 average cost of a honeymoon.
It came as quite a surprise to see such a drop. However, given the size of the sample and the fact that other sites (albeit with smaller samples) have also been reporting similar figures, we feel this is a very accurate reflection of the average wedding budget in 2011.
Wedding Insurance
At an average of £15,500, your wedding is likely to be the third most expensive purchase you’ll ever make!
Wedding insurance is there to provide financial protection should something go wrong e.g.
- one of your suppliers goes out of business
- damage to your dress or other attire
- death/illness of the bride, groom or member of close family
- loss of wedding photography
It’s not that expensive either – policies start from around just £20!
Where Does All This Money Go?
Despite a £5,000 drop, a £15,500 average wedding budget is still a lot of money! So where does all this money go?
The reception usually accounts for the largest part of the budget, with couples spending around £4,000 on their venue and feeding their guests.
The bride’s dress, groom’s suit and other attendant’s outfits can often add a further £2,000.
Then add the engagement ring, photographer, flowers, cake, transport, stationery and the cost of the stag/hen festivities and you can see how it’s very easy to spend well over five figures!
Budgeting For Your Wedding
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. If it’s covered by your policy, wedding insurance will then pay for the replacement items so that you don’t slip over your budget.
Article written by Adam. See his Google+ profile.
Sources:
Daily Mail
National Magazine Company
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