It can be difficult to set realistic wedding budget when you don’t actually know how much suppliers tend to charge. There is so much variation in costs depending on your guest numbers, the time of year, the day of the week, the length of your day… so where do you start?
Below I have set out a rough guide to how much certain suppliers may cost to help you start to plan your wedding budget.
The average cost of a UK wedding in 2024 was around £21,000. Below should allow you to see where all that money goes (figures correct as of July 2024). This figure, of course, takes into account the entire spectrum of wedding budgets – the high with the lower – and so this figure can easily range between £25,000 - £40,000 for average couples that I work with.
Below are rough estimates of typical costs for a 'standard' wedding e.g. around 100 guests, getting married on a Saturday in summer. Those with a higher budget can typically accommodate more elements in their wedding than those with smaller budgets, so the list here only includes the most common expenses.
Legal Fees: £200+
Administration fee: around £60
Giving notice of marriage: £40 each, totalling £80
Registrar fee, depending on the office and venue: £70 - £650
Wedding certificate: £12.50
If you choose to have a celebrant-led ceremony, you also have to factor in their costs: from £750
Venue hire: £5,000 - £15,000
This figure is for non-exclusive use. If you want exclusive use, you’re looking at the higher end of this range up to £20,000. Church hire is usually much cheaper than this and varies from place to place (more in the hundreds).
Catering: £7,500 - £10,000
Depending on the catering style you choose, you're looking at £75 - £100 per person for a three course, "standard", wedding breakfast (your main meal).
Keep in mind this is food only, day time drinks packages will be added on top of this and can range from £30+ per person so add on another £3,000 at least for that if you're not doing this yourselves. Drinks packages normally cover the drinks reception drink, toasting drink, and wine for the dinner tables.
Photography: £2,500 - £5,000
Videography: £1,500 - £5,000
Flowers: £500 - £3,000
Bridal bouquet: £100 - £200
Bridesmaid’s bouquets: £50 - £120
Buttonholes: £10 - £50
Ceremony flowers, very dependant on style but as a guide: £150 - £2,000
Table flowers: £50 - £150 per table
Cake: £750 - £2,000
Bridal hair and makeup: £300 - £1,000
Bridal trials for both hair and makeup can be around £100 each also on top of this. Hair and makeup for others will be slightly cheaper than the bride. Sometimes having a combined hair and makeup artist will be more cost effective than two separate suppliers.
Bridal outfit: £1,500 - £5,000
Groom outfit: £500 - £2,000
Rings: from £1,000
Decorations and rentals: £200 - £3,000
Musicians/Band: £1,500 - £5,000
DJs can be cheaper, from £750.
Stationery: from £400
Transport: £500 - £1,000
Wedding Planner: from £1,500-£2,000 depending on service
Contingency: 10%
I also always recommend you keep around 10% of your wedding budget allocated as a contingency fund to dip into as and when you need last-minute cash e.g. wedding dress alterations, postage for invites, emergency taxi pickups, other bits you may forget.
If you don’t end up using your contingency, then you can use it as extra honeymoon cash!
I hope that has given you useful ball-park figures to start your budget planning off on the right foot! If you would like help with planning your budget and – most importantly - sticking to it, then do get in touch! I’d be happy to help.