The average cost of a UK wedding has soared to the 'highest it's ever been'

Bad news if you're heading down the aisle any time soon 

The average cost of a UK wedding has increased by 19 per cent since last year, according to a new survey from Hitched.co.uk.

£32,000 is the average amount a couple might expect to spend, with prices rising even higher if they choose to tie the knot in London.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, weddings hosted in the capital have the highest average price tag, £41,500 – which equates to 52% more than the average UK salary, Hitched claims.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire is the cheapest location to get married in, with wedding prices averaging £27,000.

For its annual report on UK wedding trends and spend, Hitched collected data from more than 3,300 brides. The results uncovered that venue hire is the single greatest wedding expense - £5,221 on average - with honeymoons (£4,545 on average) and food (£4,151) following second and third respectively.

The top five biggest expenses were as follows:

  1. Venue hire – £5,221
  2. Honeymoon – £4,545
  3. Food – £4,151
  4. Engagement ring – £2,657
  5. Drinks – £1,76

Interestingly, the report also revealed that increasingly couples are opting for less formal venues in which to host their weddings: less hotels, marquees and country houses, more barns and farms. In fact, barns and farms accounted for 28% of all the wedding venues surveyed - more than any other setting.

The most popular wedding venues in the UK are:

  • Barn/farm
  • Hotel
  • Country House
  • Historic Building
  • Marquee or Pavilion

Sarah Allard, editor at Hitched.co.uk, says: “It’s clear to see that the venue really is the most important part of a bride’s big day, with couples opting to spend 16% of their total budget on their favoured place to say, ‘I do’.

“It’s no surprise that barns have claimed the top spot as the most popular venue either; not only do they offer a more relaxed and comfortable setting for the celebrations but they lend themselves perfectly to the rustic trend so many couples are looking for.”

Below is a breakdown of wedding spends by category:

Hitched.co.uk

You can also see a full break down of UK wedding costs in the chart below:

Hitched.co.uk

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