The Rising Prices of Weddings
Wedding costs have often been at the front of many couple’s thought processes. Where do these costs come from and what are the priorities of your wedding day?
Image credit: Sam McDermott
Both couples and wedding days are completely unique.
I’m going to combine my years as a wedding videographer, a recent groom and couple this with some wedding surveys to give a pragmatic perspective on the expenses encountered for your special day.
I know as a wedding videographer you might be wondering what I know about budgeting for your wedding, but the fact is that I attend a number of weddings a year.
Many Brides and Grooms become my close friends after their wedding and I happen to have married my soul mate just over 5 years ago in a destination wedding.
One thing that I’ve seen can have a negative impact on your wedding day is capitulation to other people’s needs.
Yes, you’re bringing together family and friends. Of course there are obligations throughout your family and social circles, but ultimately you are the couple getting married.
Its your day and no one else’s! The best advice that my uncle and aunt said to me before my wedding was “do whatever makes you happy as a couple”.
The National Wedding Survey by Hitched.com revealed the average cost of a wedding in the UK in 2021, which I’ll use as a basis for this
The survey provides a breakdown of how many couples turned to the bank of mum and dad, and how much of the total cost parents contributed to – something that some couples are lucky enough to avail of.
Wedding vendors Northern Ireland don’t tend to publish or conduct surveys of wedding couples, so most of the data out there comes from the mainland UK.
The average wedding in the UK in 2021 cost £17,300.
This is 90% up on the average cost of a wedding in 2020, which was £9,100 – but covid threw a spanner in the works for couples and we thank goodness that we’re putting this behind us.
I’m noticing in 2022 that people are keen to get their families and friends together in larger groups, thanks again to covid restrictions lifting.
Finally, most air travel is allowed and so those relatives from distant lands can hop on a flight to Northern Ireland and not face restrictions when they arrive, which is great news for couples and the wedding industry as a whole.
The average wedding cost breakdown
According to www.nimblefins.co.uk, here are the main costs associated with a wedding:
Wedding Costs
Lower Range
Middle
Upper Range
Wedding & Reception Venue
£500
£7,600
£10,000
Catering (food)
£1,500
£2,275
£8,000
Catering (drink)
£400
£1,050
£5,000
Dress
£350
£1,300
£3,000
Photography and video
£500
£2,000
£4,000
Entertainment
£200
£1,000
£2,000
Flowers
£250
£500
£2,000
Engagement and Wedding rings
£250
£3,000
£10,000
Cake
£200
£500
£2,000
Transportation
£0
£500
£1,500
Stationary
£-
£500
£350
Attendant's outfits
£-
£350
£800
Groom's suit
£50
£500
£800
Mother-of-the-bride outfit
£-
£200
£400
Hair and makeup
£80
£150
£1,000
Headdress and/or veil
£30
£70
£250
Shoes
£50
£100
£400
Other wedding jewellery
£40
£100
£500
Gifts
£-
£250
£1,000
Ceremony fees
£57
£200
£300
Decoration
£175
£350
£2,500
Honeymoon
£1,250
£4,500
£10,000
Hen party
£200
£470
£800
Stag party
£200
£550
£1,000
Total Wedding Costs
£4,632
£22,495
£55,800
Honeymoon
£1,250
£4,500
£10,000
Hen party
£200
£470
£800
Stag party
£200
£550
£1,000
Total Costs, incl. wedding, honeymoon, stag/hen dos
£6,282
£28,015
£67,600
There isn’t an actual limit and you can spend literally hundreds of thousands of pounds if you want to go for a top luxury destination wedding!
Couples who married in 2021 paid on average £7,600 to hire their dream wedding venue.
Many couples suspended their plans from 2020 and have been saving money by not going on holiday – this has meant that many couples have been better positioned to financially achieve their desired venue. This is the bulk of your costs, especially when combined with paying for guest’s food.
I’m obviously a huge advocate of couples hiring a wedding photographer and videographer!
The hitched survey put the average photographer cost at £1200. This may take into account budget photographers that I’ve written about here.
Hiring a wedding photographer captures those moments for you to look back on forever, so it makes sense that this is going to be a portion of your expenses. Just like wedding videographers, photographers face immense pressure and bring a wealth of technology with them to each wedding. If I told you that a memory card can cost around £250, then you can only imagine how much photography and videography kit is used to capture your wedding. I’ve compared the differences between wedding videographers and photographers here - there’s more in common that you might think.
Thankfully, many wedding photographers offer different packages – so you can make the most of your desired budget.
Wedding Videography
Videography isn’t even talked about in many wedding budget surveys.
Gone are the days when someone turned up with a huge camera and hit record on the whole of your day, delivering a 4 hour ‘edit’ of your wedding.
Videography constantly evolves (read here about the wedding videography trends of 2023), and I’ve even written about the cost of a wedding videographer compared to a plumber.
I did a deep dive into the average cost of a wedding videographer. As a general rule, they come in 3 forms. Cheap and cheerful (£500 - £1000 - usually a beginner or someone trying to make as much money as possible in a short space of time whilst struggling not to burn out); Reasonably priced (£1000 - £2000) - probably someone who knows what they are doing and provides a great product; and above-average (£2000+) - usually the videographers who have branded themselves to service the higher end of the market, often branching into full-time destination wedding videography or high-end venues.
When it comes to wedding videography I’m incredibly biased, and always will be. Photography doesn’t capture what was said during a speech. Your grandkids can’t look at your photos and hear what was said that caused him to cry during the vows - it’s different, and always will be.
The problem with wedding videography is that it’s seen as a luxury rather than a necessity. To that end, it can often be the first thing to be chopped from your budget when you finally realise that a decent videographer will charge upwards of £1000 for their services.
Please do yourself a favour - if you’re considering your budget for wedding videography then understand that you can go cheap (£500) for a product that is basic, or you can spend an extra £500 to capture the thousands of pounds you’ve invested into your big day to capture it properly. 50% of the videographers service is the experience that you have with them. I’m not urging everyone to book with me - there are plenty of decent wedding videographers in Northern Ireland - but if you’re going to save money on videography you might regret it when you don’t hear from your videographer for months.
Catering
Catering forms another huge part of your day, and often these costs are fixed by your venue.
This can often make certain venues unattainable to certain couples who might be feeling the pinch at the minute.
I’ve noticed a lot of wedding couples choose a venue purely based on the cost – placing their budget as the most important factor in this decision.
The average catering cost was £3.887 in 2021. At an average spend of £65 per head on food. The average number of guests was 72, and I expect that 2022 will show a rise in this number once the statistics are in.
Bank Of Mum And Dad
The survey also showed that the majority of couples were given money by family or friends to help them pay for their wedding.
It reported that parents pay an average 61% of the wedding cost (time to get mum and dad over for Sunday lunch more often than usual!).
One thing that I sometimes remind couples is that friends and family could also give you cash on the day in place of a present – and this can go towards those little extras after the wedding such as a print wedding photo album, or extended wedding video edit.
It can take a little bit of the burden away and make it so that couples can get exactly what they want. I was surprised at the generosity of my guests. I’ve heard that guests usually give roughly £50 to each couple, and I’ve been at weddings where the bride and groom have put their bank details on their wedding invitation - that saves receiving 5 toasters!
Almost half of the couples surveyed said that they had over-spent their budget.
This is totally understandable. The small things can soon add up. Want a band? Need a harpist? Fancy an Irish dance show to get everyone up on their feet on their way to your photo booth?
When taken separately these can look like small costs, but when combined and added with a reception drink for each guest, you’re suddenly costing yourself a few thousand pounds more.
What kind of ceremony you choose can also have a big impact on costs.
Registry costs are anywhere between £50 and £300 per time.
A humanist ceremony can cost around £600.
I’m a big fan of humanist ceremonies and see them growing in popularity year on year. Many couples want their story to be part of the day, and humanist ceremonies give them just this.
Want to know more about humanist ceremonies? I sat down with Claire Taylor (Taylor your wedding) and asked her what a humanist ceremony is and her top tip for choosing a humanist celebrant.
Wedding Ceremony Cost
The cheapest way to get married is by exchanging vows at a statutory ceremony in a register office—this costs around £57 (£46 for the ceremony and £11 for a marriage certificate).
But a statutory ceremony at a register office doesn't allow for personal vows, guests, flowers, music or any of the other usual fanfare. Of course, you can choose other settings but they will cost more. The table below will give you an idea of some popular ceremony venue costs.
Technically, you can get married for as little as £57 (£46 for the ceremony and £11 for the marriage certificate). Of course this doesn’t allow for guests, flowers, food or anything – but it can be done and I’ve seen couples spend a little on a registry ceremony, and spend more on their wedding photography and videography as their biggest expense.
Ceremony Costs
Register Office
£57
Church of England (home parish)
£512
Church of England (outside your parish)
£560
Other Venues (low end)
£200
Other Venues (high end)
£1,500
Wedding Planners
I can honestly say that in all of my years of filming weddings, I’ve never met a bad wedding planner. Every one of them has been fantastic to work with on the day and I’ve never heard any complaints from wedding couples. Their prices, and involvement, can vary so much that it’s hard to get an average cost of one. Sometimes brides and grooms find that planning their own wedding can be stressful – especially at first. It’s a number of big decisions at first, with most of the interactions happening online and culminating in paying big invoices. It might not be until you’re meeting face-to-face with vendors and making those small choices (such as colours and gifts) that you start to really enjoy the process as a couple. Stick with it!
Say Yes To The Dress
My top tips for the wedding dress are:
Only try on dresses that are within your budget. It’s easy to get wowed by that extra special sparkly number that is all you’ve ever wanted. Once you put it on and mum’s tears flow it will be harder to say no and this might eat into a portion of your budget that you hadn’t planned for – leading to capitulations down the line.
Take your time. You’ll probably end up back at the first shop you started! I spoke to Leah Alexander of LA Bridal, Carrickfergus (www.labridalhouse.co.uk), Northern Ireland and her top tip is: Some bridal stores can have sample sales on where dresses are reduced in price. Rather than buying online and risking not getting the right style, you can ensure that the bridal shops are selling you the genuine designer dresses.
Wedding Rings
I know a number of men who are practical, work with their hands and don’t want to break the bank when it comes to buying their ring. It’s not that we don’t love our wedding rings – we really do.
I handle cameras all day and love a bit of gardening – if my wedding ring was a top-notch diamond encrusted ring then I’d be more likely to take it off during certain days – and this increases the risk of us men loosing our wedding rings!
On the other hand, my friend was so well turned out on a daily basis that he could be mistaken for a fashion model - he went for a flashy diamond encrusted ring that suited his personality.
Obviously, the brides rings are often more expensive. I see a lot of grooms putting in some extra overtime shifts to get their brides the ring that they want - and this is often separate to the main wedding fund.
Personally, I’ve always worked second jobs - and this cash went towards treating my wife to some of the special things she wanted for her wedding day, including (you’ve guessed it) a diamond wedding ring.
Average Wedding Ring Costs
Wedding Ring Type
Low
Mid
High (with diamonds)
9ct White, Yellow or Rose Gold
£150
£400
£2,250
18ct White, Yellow or Rose Gold
£300
£600
£2,500
Platinum
£450
£1,250
£2,950
Tips for Saving
Based on my own personal experience, I’d say that the number one tip I have for saving for your wedding day is to put money aside – rather than keeping your funds together. It’s something that I’ve had to learn to do quickly when it comes to running my own business, being a self-employed videographer, and raising a family whilst saving for my own wedding.
This can not only improve your budget awareness, but spur you on to keep up the good work when you see the numbers rise. This also gives you a little more of a barrier from dipping into your wedding savings fund for that much needed car repair!
A summary of a Nimblefins survey showed:
The proportion of couples wanting to spend no more than £10,000 on their wedding has increased from 28% in 2020, to 31% in 2021,
Those spending between £10,000 and £20,000 has decreased from 35% in 2020, to 32% in 2021 and 28% in 2022.
This to me seems like simple economics.
Whilst the cost of living crisis is affecting us all, there are still those couples out there who may be fortunate enough to financially protect their wedding budget – whilst there are plenty of couples who are being money conscious right now out of necessity.
Paying for your Wedding
However you plan on paying for your wedding, and however much you are wanting to spend – just give it some thought in good time. By the time your budget starts to spiral out of control, it’s too late, and a little planning can go a long way.
Never before have wedding budgets been so varied, and for good reason. If you could have the wedding of your dreams for a few hundred pounds then that would be amazing!
I hope this insight has helped you to get a deeper understanding of your wedding budget. Good luck with your saving and spending plan!
For more information about my style of videography just check out my films here, and be sure to take a look at my packages to see how far your videography budget can go!
I cover weddings across Northern Ireland, Ireland and destination weddings across the globe. For more information just get in touch today. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks,
Adam White
Wedding Cinematographer
