by Beckie Knowles

Created on: August 01, 2009   Last Updated: August 02, 2009

The average wedding costs around 20,000 GBP. Not only is this a huge amount to fork out for one day of your life, it also becomes ridiculous when you consider the high rate of re-marriage. When I discovered how much the average bride spends on her big day, I was distraught. At just nineteen, how could my fiance and I ever expect to cover the costs of an industry centralised 'white wedding'. As many couples are waiting much longer to get married, they have much more time to save money or be in higher earning jobs.

The wedding industry charges a premium because they know brides will spend huge amounts of money recreating their big day dreams. Spending 20k might seem a small price to pay for the absolutely perfect day, but the truth is that perfection can be achieved on a much more modest budget. There are some tricks you should have up to sleeve to save money during your wedding planning.

The Date

Setting the date is one of the first steps in planning a wedding. It is also one of the best ways to save money. By choosing to get married on a week day, your reception costs will immediately drop by a minimum of 10%. Accommodation will also be cheaper for you and your guests, and leaving on your honeymoon on a week day could be half the price of flights on a Saturday. Picking a date out of the high season will cut costs again. If you plan your wedding date around a religious ceremony, the church decorations will already be in place and will save you money decorating the church.

Guest List

If there are guests you can't bear not to invite, choosing a week day wedding will shave down your guest list. Don't worry about making things hard for close friends and family, they will do whatever it takes to be there on your big day. Prioritise. If you are not going to see someone in the next six months to hand them an invitation, are they really a close enough friend to invite? Only invite close friends and family to the wedding breakfast. Other guests can be given an evening only invitation, which saves on catering costs. If your guest list is way too big for your budget, have an informal wedding party before the big day and invite those you can't afford to invite to the real thing. Going out and having fun will keep your friends happy, and true friends will understand weddings are expensive things.

Prioritise

Is the fairytale wedding dress really important to you? Does having more guests matter than the luxury of the venue? It is essential you know what you want and

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