Wedding bells ‘ring up’

Research from Sainsbury’s Bank into the cost of a wedding has revealed that couples who have married in the past five years claim to have spent on average £13,200 on their wedding, and those younger hitchers aged between 18-34, who are more likely to be first-timers are spending an average of £21,109.

Analysis of Sainsbury’s Bank’s loans data shows that the average amount borrowed for a wedding, according to borrowers is £8,936.

However, the true cost of the wedding is closer to £52,000, when all the expenses – including those incurred by the guests are added together.

On average, guests can spend up to £423 on attending a wedding – when all the following expenses are calculated.

Expense - Cost (£)

Wedding gift £91

Outfit £91

Accommodation £89

Transport to / from the wedding £50

Shoes £39

Hair / beauty treatments £37

Babysitter £26

Total £423

For those who attend the stag or hen do, an average of £92 can be added to this total, bringing the full wedding-guest experience to over £500.

With the average number of wedding guests now put at around 92, this could mean that the true cost of a wedding is well over £52,000 – not including any stag or hen festivities. This is almost four-fold the reported average wedding cost.

Simon Ranson, Head of Banking, Sainsbury’s Bank says: “Our research shows that weddings are expensive for guests as well as the hosts, so planning ahead and budgeting is a must for anyone planning or attending one.

”Loans are a popular way to fund a wedding but credit cards provide another option. For example, there are cards available offering no interest on purchases – including ours which offers 27 months.  If you take out one of our cards, make sure you pay the balance off in the promotional period to avoid paying any interest.”

The research showed that paying off a wedding takes on average, four months, rising to a mean of 10 months for 18-34 year-olds. However, 4% of those who had married took one-two years to pay of their wedding, and 3% took two to three years.

Sadly, 6% of those who got married became divorced or separated whilst they were still paying off their wedding, though for 29% who got married then split up, at least the wedding had been paid off by this time. Happily, most respondents were still together.

To find out more about Sainsbury’s Bank loans and credit cards, visit sainsburysbank.co.uk.