Getting the best value out of your wedding budget – first up, how to build a budget
You got engaged! Congratulations! An incredibly exciting time for you both and, of course, for your families. After the initial rush of hugs, kisses and the occasional pop of Champagne corks, it’s time to get down to business and start planning what you both want, when you want it and where you want it to happen. All crucial questions, but there’s one more: how is it all going to be paid for?
A quick online check will provide templates to help you decide what’s important and what isn’t and only when you are confident that you know how you would like your wedding day to look can you start thinking about the financial side of things.
How to create a wedding budget
1. Make a list of absolutely everything that you need/want for your wedding day.
2. Add realistic costs, allowing for inflation, next to each item on the list.
3. Total it up.
4. Count the number of months between now and the big day and divide the total by the months. This is how much needs to be set aside every month, starting this month!
| Wedding wish list budget – based on 50 guests | ||
Item to be paid for | Anticipated cost based on UK average costs in 2024 £ | Notes |
| Wedding venue | 9000 | This may be plus food and drink |
| Church ceremony or Registrar | 600 | Essential cost |
| Marriage Licence | 35 | Essential cost |
| Two simple gold wedding bands | 400 | Variable |
| Bride & Groom outfits (incl alterations) and shoes | 2500 | Very variable |
| Hair and make up including trials | 700 | Very variable |
| Food | 4000 | @ £80 per person |
| Beverages | 1500 | @ £30 per person |
| Transport | 200 | Variable |
| Cake | 300 | Depending on size and layers |
| Flowers and other room decor | 500 | Very variable |
| Photographer | 1700 | Variable |
| Videographer | 1500 | Variable |
| Wedding favours and gifts to special people | 400 | Variable |
| Hire of furniture, table linen, crockery, cutlery etc. | 500 | Depending on the venue |
| Confetti | 70 | Biodegradable flower petals |
| Music and other entertainment | 1500 | Variable |
| Overnight accommodation for bride and groom | 200 | Possibly at the venue or nearby |
| Wedding stationery and postage | 400 | Variable |
| Wedding insurance | 150 | Varies according to the overall cost of the wedding |
| Honeymoon | 4000 | Variable |
| GRAND TOTAL | £29,655 | Furniture/tableware hire has been deducted |
Based on a wedding date set two years from today the above figures mean that you will need to save about £1235 per month, every month to cover the above costs.
“Impossible”, I hear you say, and I agree. £30,000 is a lot of money and could be the deposit on a house, a brand new electric car, financial security for the future or a massive debt around your necks for many years to come.
Time to look at the absolute essentials, a few lovely extras and perhaps deleting a handful of expensive luxuries that you can manage without.
Now revise the original wish list to include the essentials and three or four ‘must haves’. Now, consider the other big ticket items: venue, food and beverage, photographer, videographer, entertainment and honeymoon and look at the figures again.
| Wedding budget – revised – based on 50 guests | ||
Item to be paid for | Anticipated adjusted cost£ | Notes |
| All inclusive venue hire | 5000 | Some venues include food, beverage, some decorations and entertainment in their wedding packages, others don’t. |
| Church or Register Office service | 600 | Essential cost |
| Marriage licence | 35 | Essential cost |
| Two simple gold wedding bands | 400 | Variable |
| Bride & Groom outfits (incl alterations) and shoes | 1500 | Groom – hire or buy off the pegBride – bridal outlet purchase |
| Hair and make up including trials | 0 | DIY or a friend |
| Transport | 0 | DIY |
| Cake | 100 | M&S two tier naked cake + decoration |
| Flowers and other room decor | 300 | 10 x M&S bouquets |
| Photographer | 750 | Five hours from Angela Fitch Photography |
| Videographer | 0 | Complimentary ceremony video from Angela Fitch Photgraphy |
| Wedding favours and gifts to special people | 250 | Forget the wedding favours, nobody will notice! |
| Confetti | 0 | DIY – easy! Check out our blog |
| Overnight accommodation for the bride and groom | 200 | Local hotel or Airbnb |
| Wedding stationery and postage | 100 | Use Canva and DIY print, hand deliver wherever possible |
| Wedding insurance | 150 | Variable according to the cost of the wedding |
| Honeymoon | 4000 | |
| GRAND TOTAL | £13,385 | |
What a difference and you haven’t changed the date, trimmed the guest list, denied yourselves something nice to wear, settled for cheap wedding rings or changed your honeymoon destination!
Again, based on a wedding date set for two years hence, your monthly saving commitment has been slashed to £557. Does that sound more realistic?
Maybe a further tweak or two is needed?
| Wedding budget for a something a little less complex – based on 50 guests | ||
| Item to be paid for | Anticipated cost | Notes |
| Venue | 500 | Choose a nice village hall in a pretty village |
| Church or Register Office service | 600 | Essential cost |
| Marriage License | 35 | Essential cost |
| Two simple gold wedding bands | 400 | Variable |
| Bride and groom wedding outfits incl. alterations and shoes | 1500 | Variable |
| Hair and makeup | 0 | DIY or a friend |
| Food – for a tasty buffet or hog roast | 2500 | Using an outside caterer |
| Beverages | 500 | Prosecco toast, table wine, beer and soft drinks |
| Transport | 0 | Ask a friend or walk if possible |
| Cake | 100 | M&S ‘naked cake’ + decoration |
| Flowers and room decor | 100 | Garden and wild flowers + a few shop bought statement blooms |
| Photographer | 500 | Three hour ‘Essential Package’ from Angela Fitch Photography |
| Videographer | 0 | Complimentary video of your ceremony from Angela Fitch Photography |
| Wedding favours and gifts to special people | 200 | Skip the wedding favours and five to only the mothers & bridesmaids |
| Confetti | 0 | DIY – check out our blog! |
| Overnight accommodation for the bride and groom | 200 | Nice to treat yourselves after the big day! |
| Wedding stationery and postage | 0 | Go digital |
| Wedding insurance | 150 | Still worth the investment |
| Honeymoon | 2000 | Still something nice, but a little cheaper |
| GRAND TOTAL | £9,285 | |
The above outline, albeit modest will certainly cover everything lovely wedding need but may means a little more hands-on organisation by the bride, groom and perhaps one or two family and friends. The big difference is that the commitment to save is now down to £390 a month. If that’s still a challenge, trimming the guest list by 10 names and taking a UK honeymoon will cut costs by about £1600, taking the total cost to £7,685 and monthly saving commitment to a more manageable £320.
How to make the savings without anyone noticing
The venue
Switching a flashy hotel or castle for something more modest or even a humble village hall may not be what you had in mind, but believe me, it really can work if you choose the right location.
Not all venues are equal! Photographing a recent wedding at The Hundred House Hotel at Norton, in Shropshire, I found five minutes to check out their wedding package flier and it made a refreshing change to see great value for money.
This particular venue includes much of what any couple could ask for on their wedding day. £4,000 covers a three course wedding breakfast for 40 guests, an evening hog roast for 60 guests, chair covers, linens, games for the children, a DJ and an overnight stay in their bridal suite, which comes complete with four poster bed and a swing!
Speaking as a photographer, your images will look equally beautiful whether you’re sipping Champagne on the battlements of an ancient castle, enjoying Prosecco within the beautiful garden backdrop of a county hotel or strolling hand in hand along narrow, wild flower fringed lanes with a backdrop of Cotswold cottages, the Cornish coastline or the Lake District.
Photography and videography
Question: do you actually need your photographer for the entire day? Your photography, along with your wedding rings and your own beautiful memories are the legacy of your wedding day, so it’s crucial that your photography is done well.
Professional photographers are insured, we know how to cope will all sorts of lighting conditions, we’ll put you at your ease and make helpful suggestions about where to stand, we will give you gentle guidance on what to do with your hands and we have the right camera and lenses to make the most out of whatever happens on the day.
The alternative to hiring a professional is to ask friends to use their phones or cameras and, whilst you will get some entertaining documentary style shots of people having fun, you can miss out on the hero shots that a professional will spot and be in place as the action unfolds.
If funding is tight I would strongly recommend that you book a professional for the important part of the day, that’s arrival at the venue, the ceremony and group and portrait photographs afterwards. Your friends can fill in the gaps of bridal preps, the groom’s party having a laugh and a joke before the service and the love and fun of your evening entertainment.
My ‘Essential package’, includes three hours of photography on the day, colour and black and white images save to a memory stick and a back up stick presented with six complimentary fine art prints in a personalised keepsake box for £500. This may sound expensive, but it’s great value and you’ll enjoy your photographs now and for years to come.
Videography is a completely different skill and, with your officiant’s permission, we record the entire ceremony so that you have the exact moment when you got married to keep forever and we do that for free! What’s not to love?
All Angela Fitch Photography wedding packages include your entire collection of portraits, groups and documentary style images in colour and black and white, all supplied on a memory stick and a duplicate collection on a second stick as a back up. You receive your collection, with six complimentary fine art prints, presented in a personalised keepsake box for you to share digitally or in print for personal use as you would like to.
I’m very much a ‘your day, your way’ photographer, so if you prefer no group shots, or don’t like documentary images, just say the word and I will craft a collection that you will love today and
cherish forever.
When to get married
The day of the week and the season usually affects venue and catering prices. Summer Saturdays at country castles come in at over £10,000 and that’s just the use of the building, whereas a mid-week country hotel will come in at under half that cost and it’s still a beautiful venue.
Summer is peak season and most venues charge more, although that’s not usually the case with village halls and smaller venues, so switching to spring or autumn can save money. Similarly, weekends, including Fridays, are more expensive than mid-week. Winter is the cheapest time of year to get married in the UK, but with that comes shorter daylight hours, an increased risk of inclement weather and fewer options as marquees can be cold and rural locations may be muddy.
As a photographer, every season has its pros and cons and the uncertain weather patterns experienced in the UK over the past few years mean that we can have a dry, sunny day in November and it may pour with rain in August. Check out our ‘Plan B’ blog so that you’re prepared should the sun not come out to join us on your big day!
Where to get married
The geographical location of a wedding can also influence cost. The most expensive places to tie the knot are: London, South East England, North East England, Northern Ireland and Scotland where prices range from £40,000 in London to £31,000 in the North East.
Choosing a slightly out of the way destination can slash thousands off venue and other essential costs, making a spring wedding on a Wednesday in Worcestershire cost considerably less than a summer Saturday at The Savoy!
Over the years I’ve photographed weddings in just about every type of venue, all over the UK and on location. My job is to help you create a collection of beautiful photographs of the most amazing day of your life and if any of my money saving ideas help then all the better. Do give me a call on 07585 904636 if you would like to talk some more!
