How to cut the cost of your wedding

theguardian.com:

An estimated 350,000 weddings are set to take place this year, and couples spend an average of £32,000 on tying the knot. Those prices are expected to rise considerably in 2022 as some couples look to make up for the last two years of lockdown restrictions but you should be realistic about what you can afford and how many guests you can accommodate.

To work out a budget, consider how much time you have until your wedding and how much you can build up that fund between now and your planned date. Look at your monthly spending to see how much you can start saving with simple adjustments to your current lifestyle, says Karen Barrett, the founder and chief executive of the financial adviser website Unbiased.co.uk.

“Set up a separate savings account to ringfence the money you both save,” she says. “You can also earn interest tax free in a cash Isa, though there are limits on how much you can save each year. The total amount you can save annually into all your Isas is currently £20,000.”

If you decide to borrow money on a credit card or via a loan, remember you could be paying for it for some time to come.

Nobody wants to have to drag their wedding dress through muddy puddles or shiver down the aisle, so it’s no surprise that summer is the most popular time to get married. But it comes at a price.

To make a saving, avoid “wedding season” – from May to October. Weekends are also more expensive.

Some venues offer deals for midweek weddings, as well as for off-season dates (November, early December, January and February). According to the wedding planning site Hitched, booking a venue Monday to Friday in the off-season can save you up to £10,000.

Liz Taylor, a wedding planner at the Taylor Lynn Corporation, says changing the time of your