Its Not About The Perfect Wedding

Good morning,

Too many brides make a wanna-have list – a fairy tail dress, champagne and strawberries, platinum rings, a celeb style honeymoon. and i have to ask how they'll pay for it?

One brides said to me her father asked what her budget was. an d she replied, 'Dad, how can I work out my budget until I know what I want?'"

So, instead, ask yourself,"what can we afford to spend on our wedding?" Then work out how to have the best do possible within that budget. A marquee in a garden with close friends can be just as beautiful as a glizty bash for 300. 

Before I get too far into this, and you skip straight to the DIY section on the blog, it really is worth pausing to think about the money you want to spend. 

 "While a wedding is a wonderful dream day, it's important to remember one of the biggest causes of divorce is debt and financial worries.

If the cost of your wedding is going to leave you financially worse off and in debt for most of your married life, then you need to re-evaluate your dream."

If you're saving up to get married or perhaps your parents have given you a contribution, ensure you maximize the interest.

The best way is to open an easy-access account, which means you can easily withdraw the cash when needed. Yet many people avoid cash ISAs, wrongly thinking their money is locked in.

Every UK citizen over 16 gets a cash ISA allowance, which lets them save safely from the taxman. Use that up first to max your rate.

You can withdraw it anytime (provided it's easy-access), you just can’t then return it – not a problem if you're spending it anyway. 

Once you know your budget, the next step is to work out how much you can actually afford to spend on different areas and prioritize what’s important to YOU.

Write down all the things you need to spend cash on on a different piece of card – from cakes to cars, rings to registry office fees.

Talk about what’s most important to both of you. You may want a vinatge shabby chic day,  but would you prefer a honeymoon abroad? Or a professional photographer? Remember, .the biggest cost is the venue. Costs here are likely to be about one third to half of your budget

The end result may be that you can't afford the wedding you wanted. But, more importantly, it means you won't spend what you can't afford.

Holiday Inn, Old English Inns and Britannia hotels have £999 wedding packages - fab if you're on a tight budget and have a limited guest list. The key is you know what you're going to pay from the outset.

Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn offers a buffet for up to 40 guests, a wedding ceremony and planner, a disco with a DJ and overnight stay for the happy couple. Packages start at £999 and all 60 of its hotels take part - for more info, We have Two hotels in Norwich.

Old English Inns

Here you get a three-course sit-down meal, including wine and a glass of bubbly, and a disco for up to 50 guests - all for £999.

The offer is valid Sunday to Thursday (Friday and Saturday may be available with an extra charge). Look through the list of 42 participating Old English Inns and call quoting the offer.

Britannia Hotels

The Britannia Hotels £999 deal includes Buck's fizz, a three-course meal for 50 guests, evening buffet for 100 guests, room hire and a toastmaster.

The offer's subject to availability - call Britannia Hotels to check. Some higher-end branches charge £1,499 for the same package