How To Budget & Save For Your Perfect Wedding Day

Your wedding day is probably going to be the biggest party you will ever throw, if it isn’t.. then.. we need to be friends! As with everything it’s easy to say you’re going to stick to a wedding budget, even swearing by your Pinterest DIY boards. However, with venue costs and a catering bill to pay for you may end up spending more than you thought you would.

Trust me, I’ve been there I know exactly what you’re thinking and worrying about when it comes to your wedding and the budget, but it is possible and easier than you think.

I have said it before and I’ll say it again, getting married is cheap, honestly, it costs £50. (www.gov.uk) Having a wedding isn’t necessarily cheap with the national average wedding costing £27,000!

I have taken information from 6 of the top UK wedding blogs talking about average costs (all different, go figure) and figured out the true average of them all. Right at the bottom is a calculator with all the UK average wedding spends. So you can see what others spent with the same budget as you. It will even tell you how much spare cash you will have to spend on the things you have prioritised.

But first, let us talk about how to save and how to fund your perfect wedding day. You may also wish to read The Ultimate Cumbria Wedding Planner Guide for more help and tips!

Getting married is not expensive, having a wedding can be. Don't lose focus on whats important, each other.

Little changes make a BIG impact.

Save: have a lifestyle detox!

Like anything, big numbers may seem impossible, but use the calculator below to help break it down into smaller chunks. You may be surprised just how much you could save over two years just by not enjoying your favourite take away once a week. Saving only £20 a week for a year will land you £1,040!

I have known some people to take this to the extreme in a true lifestyle detox! They sold one of their cars after realising he could just cycle to work… which then meant he could stop paying for the gym that he never actually went to!

It’s a fantastic time to look at what your monthly spends are and cutting back on the things you don’t use, like that TV subscription when you only use half of the TV channels?! I’m not talking about affecting your healthy lifestyle and you shouldn’t go to that extreme but look at the magazine subscriptions you have that you never actually read or the data plan on your phone that you never even get halfway to the limit?

Even if you save £10 per bill per month, that’s £120 a year! Keep that up with all of your bills and both of you will be better off for it! If you both of you managed to get 5 monthly bills down by £10 each. That will save you a huge £1,200 a year! On top of your pizza savings, that’s £2,240 for no real work at all! Impressive.

Get creative: What skills are you hiding?

You can also get creative, what skills are you hiding? is there a way you can earn some extra cash? A way that you would enjoy, not just overtime at the day job, although… there is nothing wrong with simply working some overtime to help save! I sure did when I was getting married and I had a day job.

I have seen brides set up Etsy shops and sell their crafts and I have seen grooms help neighbours with the gardening and general DIY. It’s a cool thing to think about for sure! Or what about just getting rid of all the rubbish you’re hoarding? Take it to a car boot! Ka-ching!

Go the traditional way

A more traditional method, and at one point in time the “norm” would be for parents, typically the bride’s parents, to fund the wedding. That’s why traditional invites mention the bride’s parents and how they wish to invite you to the marriage of their daughter.

This I believe is becoming less and less of a tradition, probably because the average costs of a wedding is going up and up! That said, parents, friends and others who do wish to help you may decide to help with a lump sum of cash or to pay for things on your behalf.

A small warning with this though, and it’s rare that it happens, but sometimes it can cause arguments. Sadly to say I have witnessed arguments between family members which has caused even more stress to the day because that person was adamant on using a certain suppler or a certain item when the couple themselves wanted something different.

Like I say it’s rare, but a possibility that doing this may open up a world of joy you never knew you wanted. As long as everyone has you guys at heart and your wishes then I’m sure you will be grand!

Using credit cards for your wedding

Slap it on plastic?!

Ok, so now we’re getting more into the serious side of financing your wedding day. Credit Cards. They come in a variety of uses and a variety of repayments. As long as you’re sensible, using credit cards can be a great way forward.

There are three ways to realistically use a credit card to aid your wedding fund:

Firstly, you can use your credit card for the suppliers, like myself, who accept credit card payments. Ideally, I would just pay the big deposits off with the credit card and then manage the repayments soon after so it’s not as painful handing out large sums of money.

Secondly, you can use your card to pay for all of the small things that seemingly add up, the surprise items you didn’t think about to start off with.

Lastly, you can use your card to pay for the day to day things in life, like “the big shop”, letting your paycheck fund the wedding with small repayments to keep the credit company happy.

Please though, know that these are just ideas, If you cannot afford it, it is NOT worth the pain and the financial burden should you lose track of your spending.

Ask your bank about a wedding loan

So yeah, here is the big one that I have known couples to do. It does have some big downsides but man it has some huge upsides! Again, please note this is just a way that others have done it. Please do not put yourself under financial strain for a small immediate reward.

The advantage of a wedding loan.

Obviously, every bank is different but you can borrow between £7,500-£15,000 loans with interest rates of about 5%, which as loans go isn’t bad at all. It means you have instant money to pay everything off in full and then pay back simple fixed monthly payments over a certain amount of years after your happy day.

Repaying the loan with a shorter timeframe (if you can afford to) means you will pay less interest overall. A longer timeframe means a higher total interest bill, but each monthly repayment will be smaller (there’ll just be more of them).

The disadvantage of a wedding loan.

Only people with high credit scores will be accepted for the best deals, while those with black marks will be offered a higher interest rate or refused credit altogether.

Lenders take your credit score into account when deciding what interest rate to charge you and how much you can borrow. If you have a poor credit history, this might mean you are unable to borrow at the market-leading rates.

A wedding loan with an interest rate of 5% or thereabouts is a very attractive proposition. However, the rates available for those needing to borrow under £7,500 or more than £15,000 generally tend to be higher.

Wedding Insurance is a MUST!

As I say, weddings are a huge investment of time and money and you should protect it. In the grand scheme of things, it costs peanuts! About £60 will cover most peoples wedding insurance needs so it really isn’t anything to fear.

Some banks who offer wedding loans will only do so if you also take out wedding insurance with your loan too!

Well, after all of the above advice you’re now ready to test out the calculator! Enter your realistic savings per month and see the results unfold.You can untick items which you will not require, that amount will then go into your surplus budget for you to spend on the things that are priorities for you!

Again, this is just the UK average spends and not a golden rule set in stone.

Obviously, if your wedding venue is a package deal then you can bundle the catering, decor and venue costs all into one! Sometimes even the hair and makeup costs can be added to your venues offer.

Saving Budget

Dream Budget

How much per month can you save?

Ideal budget?

How many months away is your wedding date?

If you’re using savings, how much savings do you wish to use?

Are friends of family helping? If so much much have they gracefully given?