by Sara Farrell
I recently shared my top wedding trend predictions for dresses, venues, décor and style, now here are some general thoughts and observations I have of the overall wedding industry…
So all of these ideas I mentioned in the previous posts are great, but the bottom line is… weddings don’t come cheap! A wedding is an investment no matter how you look at it! So, how do people pay for it? The bank of Mammy and Daddy is well and truly gone. While a lot of parents give a present, parents financing the full wedding is a rare thing to find these days. I recently read that the average wedding costs €21-€25k! If you are trying to get married within a year, you could be on the baked beans every day and living like a hermit to save, or you’ll go to the bank or credit union to get a loan. Based on recent bank ad campaigns that I have seen, they are open for lending and they recognise that wedding couples often need to borrow.
In my Wedding Coordinator days I remember a bride bringing me through her budget breakdown for financing her wedding… I was horrified – it was along the lines of this – if I invite 200 people that’s 100 cards with €150 per card so that’s €15,000 plus the €5,000 present from each parent – total return €25,000! She then told me she was spending a max of €16,000 so she was making money. Don’t believe this school of wedding guest ‘crowd sourced’ wedding payment. It’s not as profitable as you think! You cannot rely on your guests to pay for your wedding! I was also chatting to someone, who knows someone, who knows someone from Arnotts and they have more and more couples signing up for the gift registry. I think this is a great idea, as not everyone likes to give cash and it’s a great option if you there are particular items you want or need. You can always make money, so it is really nice to get a physical gift.
Oh and here is another big pre-recession trend coming back: Hen and Stag parties abroad… yes, they are back! I spoke with a travel agent and she told me that these are coming back in to fashion at a rapid pace!
Thanks for reading, why not share your thoughts in the comment box below.
Sara Farrell – www.irishweddingblog.ie
Did you miss ant of the other blogs in this series? Check out Part 1 and Part 2 now!
Check out our wedding survey Infographic for some interesting results…
