Average UK Wedding Spend (by region)

Following on from our recent analysis of the average wedding cost in the UK, we’re now able to exclusively reveal how wedding spend varies between different geographic regions.

Again we looked at the data from around 1,600 wedding insurance policies purchased between January 2011 and March 2012 for weddings taking place during 2012, firstly grouping the data by county and then by geographic region.

As expected, couples in London and the South East are spending more than the national average on their weddings – 42% above and 5% above respectively. Along with the East of England, these were the only regions that spent higher than the national average.

Couples in Northern England, Wales and Northern Ireland were found to be spending the least on their weddings – around 12% below than the national average of £14,441 (including the honeymoon) in the North of England, 14% in Wales and 16% in Northern Ireland.

Full Regional Breakdown

Region	Difference on Average	Average Spend
East	1% above	£14,607
East Midlands	10% below	£13,347
London	42% above	£19,223
North East	12% below	£13,042
North West	12% below	£13,036
Northern Ireland	16% below	£12,666
Scotland	10% below	£13,350
South East	5% above	£14,980
South West	10% below	£13,273
Wales	14% below	£12,871
West Midlands	6% below	£13,788
Yorkshire and the Humber	11% below	£13,140

Couples in London then are clearly pushing up the national average as a whole by spending on average £6,000 more on their weddings than couples in other parts of the UK.

Whether the higher spend is as a result of increased venue or supplier costs in the capital we’re not sure. Or perhaps brides in other parts of the country are spending less on what could be considered ‘unnecessary’ extras? Maybe couples outside of London are more likely to go down the ‘DIY’ route, making things like invitations, table plans, decorations and cakes themselves?

Let us know what you think in the comments below.