The UK Wedding Report 2020 by Bridebook

The UK Wedding Report 2020 is here!

Bridebook is thrilled to present the 4th annual UK Wedding Report, featuring insights from thousands of couples across the country.  With couples spending £6,286 on their venues and £1,193 on their wedding dresses, it’s easy to see how wedding costs can add up to £20,731 when all the bits and bobs, including engagement ring and honeymoon, are included.

Click here to read the full report!

So who are today’s marrying couples? They’re in their early thirties (31.4 and 33.3 to be exact), they’re engaged for an average of 23.5 months, and they’re spending 25% or more of their household income on their weddings.

With so much at stake, today’s couples realise that the most expensive weddings are not necessarily the best, and in fact they’re finding innovative ways to save on wedding costs.  They’re increasingly choosing non-Saturday wedding dates (43%), they’re trading paper for digital invitations (8%) and save-the-dates (12%), and they’re enjoying honeymoons locally within the UK (15%) rather than traveling abroad.  Budget-conscious and more environmentally-friendly too!

With all these cost-cutting measures, couples still prioritise a unique and personal wedding.  They’re increasingly interested in venue-hire only packages (39%) where they can fully personalise the look and feel of the space, and they want to host their ceremonies directly at their reception venues, and they’re interested in having friends and family share in the preparations for the festivities like making the wedding cake (35%).

When it comes to wedding inspiration, couples who married in 2019 showed a greater interest in rustic wedding themes (34%) and barn venues (18%), indicating that today’s couples are more into a less formal, relaxed and casual wedding vibe.

But while these couples may aim for a relaxed style on their wedding day, their engagements can sometimes be anything but. Couples rely on reading reviews (18.7 venue reviews) to help get a feel for businesses they are considering, and find these reviews to be more important than everything else except for touring the venue itself. On the planning side, couples mention wedding planning challenges from guest management issues, keeping everything organised to family politics, to stressful decision-making processes for their venues and suppliers. Most of all, they just want to stay within budget (16%). We hear ya. 

Luckily, Bridebook is here to help with many of these challenges.  With Bridebook, couples can get personalised budgets outlined based on the specifics that they want to include in their wedding, which keeps them on track with spending throughout the engagement. The wedding checklist highlights specific tasks to complete and when, featuring useful advice and tips throughout.  Searching venues and suppliers couldn’t be easier with reviews, photos and all sorts of helpful information to aid in decision-making. Bridebook’s Guest List allows for easy guest management on the go, with an easy Guest Info Collector feature that allows guests to input their own address information, and voila, it’s updated.  Wedding challenges averted!

Click here to read the UK Wedding Report 2020!