Many UK couples spend between £15,000 and £20,000 on their wedding, but the "average" matters far less than the number you choose. The goal is a day you'll love that you've actually saved for, not one you'll spend years paying off.
Where the money goes
Costs vary enormously by region and taste, but a typical mid-range budget breaks down roughly like this:
| Item | Typical share |
|---|---|
| Venue hire | ~30% |
| Catering & drinks | ~25% |
| Photography & video | ~10% |
| Outfits, rings, beauty | ~12% |
| Flowers, decor, music | ~13% |
| Stationery, cake, extras | ~10% |
The single biggest lever is your guest count, because it drives the catering bill. Cutting twenty guests can save more than haggling over every other line item combined.
Turn your budget into a monthly plan
Once you've agreed a total, the rest is just timing. For an £18,000 wedding:
- 12 months away → £1,500/month between you
- 18 months away → £1,000/month
- 24 months away → £750/month
Splitting it between two people makes those figures far more manageable: £750 a month is £375 each.
Set your wedding budget and date, and PacePot shows the monthly amount to save. Track it together as you go.
Open the wedding savings calculatorHow to keep costs down
- Pick an off-peak date. Winter, weekdays, and Sundays are often dramatically cheaper for venues.
- Trim the guest list. The biggest, easiest saving there is.
- Spend where it matters to you. Pick two or three priorities (maybe photography and food) and keep everything else simple.
- Avoid the "wedding" markup. The same flowers or catering can cost more the moment the word is mentioned, so get comparable quotes.
The bottom line
Decide a total you're both comfortable with, divide it by the months until the big day, and split the monthly amount between you. Start early, keep the wedding fund separate, and protect your emergency savings. The best wedding gift you can give yourselves is starting married life without debt.