Bills rack up fast when you’re planning the most magical day of your life, but recession be damned, the average Irish couple still budget approximately €24,000 for their wedding.
The costs include around €19,635 on the dress, suits, ceremony and reception and a further €4,000 on an exotic honeymoon.
In the largest survey of its kind conducted in Ireland, Mrs2Be asked 2,407 brides and grooms about their wedding plans.
The Pinterest generation is now spending more than ever on the cake, DJ and photographer while saving on other elements such as the dress, venue and jewellery. The average number of guests is between 101 and 150, with most couples spending between €41 and €60 per head on the wedding meal.
We’re also choosing shorter engagements: 33.2 per cent waited between 13 and 18 months to tie the knot, considerably less than the two year engagements that were the norm up until recently.
Perhaps it’s because a quarter of us us have been living together for more than five years before we walk up the aisle; only 8.8 per cent of couples lived separately until they married.
The church is still the most popular wedding venue, with 73.8 per cent asking the parish priest to do the honours, but more than 25 per cent of couples chose not to get married in a church.
According to Keith Malone of Mrs2Be, these are the most common regrets couples have after the big day:
- I should have got a videographer to capture the day as it goes by so fast.
- I wish I’d allocated more budget to the photographer
- I should have given a bit more time to the wedding photos on the day
- I should have started getting organised for the wedding earlier
- I shouldn’t have bothered with wedding speeches.
