The man of your dreams has asked you to marry him. You’ve said yes, everything is wonderful and now you get to do the fun part of planning the big day!

You decide on a budget and think you’re being super smart because secretly you’ve been planning this forever and you know exactly what you want.

You have an ‘essential list’.

• Dress
• Grooms suit
• Flowers
• Photographer
• Venue

And you think ‘Yeah, I’ve got this. I can keep this well below £7,000’.

Then you remember that you haven’t looked at rings yet.

Do you have your wedding night lingerie? Shoes? Who’s doing your hair and make-up, nails? Mother of the Bride and MIL flowers? A gift for your new husband/wife? What about bridesmaids thank you gifts? Will the bridesmaids pay for their own dresses? Will you have drinks included in the cost of the wedding breakfast? Is the DJ included in the cost of the venue? What about registrar fees? Wedding transport? Wedding favours? Honeymoon?

I could go on and on. That little list has just added at least another £3,000 to your £7,000 budget.

The average cost of a wedding in the UK, as of December 2016, is £27,000 (£38,000 in London). To me that is bonkers! There is not a chance in ever, even if I had that kind of money, that I would spend on anything other than a house. Or maybe a really extravagant holiday…

However, if that’s your bag (oh do you have a wedding bag? It needs to match your dress) you go ahead.

That’s the beauty of a wedding day. It’s your day. Spend as much or as little as you like.

Just to let you know though it would only cost about £600 to get married in a registry office. Yes okay it won’t be fancy with swans, crystal chandeliers and caviar but you will be married, and isn’t that what it’s all about anyway?

In my opinion most people have the whole extravagant wedding for everyone else. Well it’s not everyone else that’s getting married, it’s you and your partner. Whether you spend £500,000 or £5,000 you still get the same marriage certificate.

Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials  may your day not bankrupt you and may love and happiness and fill the rest of your days together ♥

Here’s a little bit of inspiration for you…

Outrageously expensive weddings!

Some more, beautiful, but crazy expensive weddings!

Some rather interesting wedding facts

Awesome budget wedding ideas!