I have just learned that the average price of a wedding in the UK, now stands at a staggering £27,500. That's an awful lot of money for a one day bash; plus the honeymoon.
My own wedding was a slightly less expensive affair.
We could have been married in St Paul's, but we liked the idea of Paris. However, the embassy there informed us that we would have to be resident for a minimum of two weeks. That wasn't part of the plan.
The nice man suggested Gibraltar, where with the use of a 'special licence', we could be married almost the same day. Our overall itinerary included Morocco, so Gibraltar sounded like fun; we would simply have to have the honeymoon before the wedding.
Our stay in Tangiers was 'interesting'. Having been forced to have my flowing locks cut off before being allowed to enter their glorious country, we stayed in a multi-occupancy hotel room with three Americans (bizarre to say the least). We took full advantage of all that Morocco offered (ahem), then eventually sailed across the Straights, over to Little England by the Med'.
We were married just after John and Yoko; the registrar telling us that Y looked like a drowned Rat (but please don't repeat that). I had managed to poison myself by eating Moroccan street food, so much of the ceremony was spent with me rushing to the bog.
Call me frugal if you wish, but I seem to remember that the wedding itself cost £10; a slight SAVING of £27,490.
We had a frugal wedding as we preferred to save that money for our honeymoon to tour South africa.
ReplyDeleteSome couples in Italy who can't afford it, especially in the south, will borrow money to show off that their wedding is the wedding of the year, sometimes even resorting to usurers.
Greeting Maria x
It is pure madness spending all this money. Of course, £27,500 is nothing compared to some idiotic sums one hears about, but I suppose if one is a multi-Billionaire it doesn't really matter; it keeps people employed.
DeleteWe didn't spend a lot on our wedding and it was everything we wanted with a delicious meal and lots of friends and family to share it with.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure one can have as much fun with £1,000 as with £1,000,000. Excessive spending is not a good trend.
DeleteMy three weddings were all DIY jobs, with minimal cost apart from the normal fees which needed to be paid. Home made dresses, receptions at the relevant homes, home cooked food. In my opinion, DIY weddings are the best. It took me two tries at being married before I met my right partner so any money spent on those previous two weddings would have been wasted although the life experience which went with those weddings was not.
ReplyDeleteI've not been to a huge amount of weddings, but the expensive ones were all 'soul-less', and the cheap ones were fun. I think that says a lot.
DeleteWe had a tiny wedding 29yrs ago - 12 guests - total cost roughly £700. Our son gets married in the summer. We've given them money towards it. He'd be happy with small but it's not to be. Nevertheless it won't cost £27,500 - hopefully less than half that (if common sense prevails!)
ReplyDeleteBest to keep the expenses as low as possible, and use the excess money for mortgage etc.
DeleteI thought my nephew's wedding at AU$35,000 was extraordinary, but that average cost is even more. Morocco was the undoing of many men. Just as well you were on your honeymoon and had eyes for only one. Shared accommodation, oh dear.
ReplyDeleteWe were still students, and doing everything on the cheap; sharing a room worked out at almost nothing. We'd met the 3 Americans (1 M, 2 F) on the ferry.
DeleteWhat surprises me more than anything: Didn't you feel any need to tie the knot in front of and celebrate with friends and family?
ReplyDeleteOne of my cousins got married somewhere in the Caribbean; sometime in the mid to late eighties. It wasn't an auspicious start to family relations.
And what's with the hair? Are you crazy? Cutting long locks off (I don't know how long yours were) to visit a particular country? There is a marvellous expression in the motherland, and to keep Chloe amused, I would have said: "Ihr koennt mich mal ...". A long winded and expressive way of saying "No thanks". And I, in the future Lady M's shoes, would have gone on strike.
Anyway, as the proof is in the pudding, and I think it quite something, you are still together to tell the tale. Congratulations.
Out of curiosity, what did your own kids do for their weddings?
U
They wouldn't let me into Morocco unless I cut my hair; It was the King's edict.
DeleteI have 3 children. One was married in Germany (Bayreuth), one was married in his garden in Oz, and the third is a rebel.
nice variety
DeleteWe had a very low key wedding, registry office, two witnesses. We needed the cash for a house deposit. When Kat got married we had a family wedding on the beach in Tobago. It was a wonderful holiday and didn't cost the earth (just as well because the marriage only lasted 2 years!).
ReplyDeleteYes, I suppose that if things don't go as planned, any huge expense would seem even more wasteful. Such is life; sad.
DeleteI paid for my wedding and wore a second hand dress. We had about 75 guests and a reception in a restaurant. The music was provided by three teenage boys who I had babysat when they were small. It was fine and typical of the weddings of the time. My children all had different kinds of weddings, all lovely, none inexpensive, but not extravagant, and what they wanted and paid for. I have attended some “big” weddings and have been in awe at all there was and did think it was crazy to spend all that money for one day. However, I did enjoy the experience and the wonderful food.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the baby-sat 3-piece band. That must be unique!
DeleteMy wedding was low key compared to those today. My daughter had a simple,small wedding and chose to put any extra funds towards a mortgage. I am always stunned at the money being spent on weddings and engagement rings for that matter.
ReplyDeleteRings are another matter altogether. You hear of enormous sums being paid, it makes you wonder how these people make their money.
DeleteWhat a fantastic story. My wedding in '82 cost about $800 Cdn with another $1,000 on a lovely little 3 day honeymoon. I've never regretted doing it that way (even though the marriage didn't make it.) My daughter is paying for her own wedding in the Dominican combining it with a vacation for all. Not my cup of tea, but it's what they both want.
ReplyDeleteOther than losing my locks, it was a great adventure. We even returned with some nice antique rugs from Morocco.
DeleteAnother great story for your grandkids!
ReplyDeleteA lot of couples here now have civil weddings with a handful of family and very little cost. If they can afford it later on they have a bigger church wedding and baptise the kids at the same time!
Big wedding feasts are mostly a thing of the past. We had big weddings for our children but that was well before the crisis. They didn't want such big bashes but for their father it was a matter of 'face'.
Nowadays they would have both have had civil weddings. No such choice back then. It was church or nothing.
Ours was a choice between St Paul's Cathedral or something quiet; we chose the latter. I have no regrets whatsoever.
DeleteOurs was a registry office ( of course) and a meal , it cost 900£ and was lovely
DeleteAnd it looked very stylish too John.
DeleteAfter 8 years of living together, my husband and I went to the courthouse and we're married by a notary, and didn't tell our family or friends until we got back from out honeymoon. I wore a simple blue summer dress, he wore a nice suit, we had plain gold bands, and that was it. We're still happily married almost 12 years later and I have no regrets!
ReplyDeleteExcuse the typos, I wrote this on my phone and the keyboard is tiny!
DeleteI think it has become big business now Cro.
ReplyDeleteAnd ridiculously so!
DeleteI too could have married in St Paul's, but chose to marry closer to home in the north; nothing as exotic as your adventure!
ReplyDeleteThe St Paul's bit would have been fun, but it would also have been completely over the top. No thanks.
DeleteOur wedding I think was about $600. They spend all that money and are divorced within a year. The money pit of commercialism.
ReplyDeleteWe spent £100 on our wedding in London in 1998. We told no one we were getting married, I took half a day of work and my husband left for the US the day after. We've never had a honeymoon and I don't have an engagement ring. The only reason we got married was because UK law is so antiquated that if one of us had been ill or died it would have been a problem in terms of who was next of kin and inheritance.
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