Average cost of a wedding drops by over £4,000

26/04/2011

Thrifty couples say “I do” to wedding savings

Forget splashing out on Westminster Abbey and turning to the bank of mum and dad to fund the big day, the ordinary British couple is being savvier than ever with its savings to be able to afford to tie the knot.

According to the latest figures from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, engaged Brits save for up to two years to spend an average of £16,569 on their big day, that’s £4,331 less than last year’s average*.

Couples are coming up with increasingly creative ways of funding the wedding of their dreams and 42 per cent of engaged couples have also maximised savings accounts and ISAs to be able to make the most out of their cash in the run up to the wedding.

Nearly 30 per cent of Brits would cull their guest list and not invite aunts and uncles to cut down on costs. One in ten wedding planners would ask the groom and groomsmen to wear their own suits rather than hiring traditional morning wear whilst a thrifty eight per cent of brides would even be prepared to buy their wedding dress on Ebay. A fifth of those brides who have bought a wedding dress have paid less than £100.

But the saving is not just restricted to the big day. Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks’ survey of 2,000 couples found that blushing brides and grooms are always thinking about how they can put money aside for the wedding. A quarter of brides have shunned the pre-wedding beauty regime, ditching haircuts and nail treatments to be able to put some cash aside. Another third of couples have abandoned luxury food items for own brand products to save a few extra pennies. Some 17 per cent of couples have even said goodbye to their fitness regime, cancelling their gym membership to save on funds.

Steve Reid, retail director for Clydesdale Bank said: “It’s great to see that savvy savers are maximising savings accounts to make the most of their hard earned cash and that they understand how to make their savings work harder.

“An ISA should be part of everyone’s savings plan and the medium to long term planning that goes into organising a wedding makes it worth considering for the big day.”

Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks have this month launched a Cash ISA Fixed Rate Bond which pays a rate of 3.25% Tax Free/AER until August 31, 2012.**

Visit http://www.cbonline.co.uk/personal/savings/ or http://www.ybonline.co.uk/personal/savings/ for more information on savings accounts.