Wedding day worries revealed

New Year nuptials are becoming increasingly popular as many marrying couples - including, reportedly, actress Billie Piper and her fiancé Laurence Fox - look set to bring down the curtain on 2007 to the sound of wedding bells rather than the chimes of Big Ben.

Yet while it’s set to be the most special day of your life, a survey of over 1,044 adults from greenbee.com - the company offering leisure and financial services from the John Lewis Partnership - has revealed that bad weather, spiralling wedding costs, and a no-show from their partner are big concerns for those preparing to tie the knot.

Key findings from the survey are:

- Bad weather causing a wedding washout is, on average, the biggest fear for marrying couples (40 per cent) - potentially helping to boost the popularity of ceremonies overseas.

- Thirty-three percent are worried about the costs of the big day getting out of hand, with almost half (47 per cent) of those aged 25-34 saying this is their main concern, well above the national average. Men are slightly more worried about this than women (35 per cent compared to 31 per cent), unsurprising as they are also twice as likely to want a big day/ big spend wedding (12 per cent compared to 6 per cent)

- Just over a sixth (15 per cent) of those surveyed are concerned about being stranded at the altar, with 18-24 year olds the most worried that their partner will have second thoughts (25 per cent). Those in the South East are the most confident the bride- or groom-to-be will go ahead with the nuptials, with only 9 per cent naming this as their biggest fear - good news for Sussex-based Billie and Laurence.

- Other areas of concern are wedding photographs not coming out (7 per cent) and problems with the venue (3 per cent).

- Suppliers (such as caterers or florists) going bankrupt is the area of least concern, with only 2 per cent naming this as their biggest fear about their big day.

James Furse, Managing Director, greenbee.com commented: “Pre-wedding fears are only to be expected, and from our research it’s clear that the brides- and grooms-to-be have a great many concerns around their special day. It is hardly surprising therefore that increasingly people are looking for ways to protect the financial and emotional investment around such a special day - with greenbee.com seeing a 274 per cent year-on-year uplift in people taking out wedding insurance in case the day doesn’t go as expected.”