Brits rein in the wedding spending

Brits are becoming more restrained in their attitude towards spending on their wedding day, new research reveals.

With Valentine's Day less than a week away, many budding romantics will be considering popping the question – but they are likely to take a more realistic attitude to wedding spending than some of their predecessors.

Only nine per cent of the population now think that that the average cost of a wedding, about £16,000, is a reasonable amount of money to pay.

Over half of those questioned for a survey by Halifax Personal Loans believe that £10,000 or less is a more appropriate figure to spend.

That is not to say that everyone has adopted a realistic attitude, with singletons and young people the most likely people to be still dreaming of an extravagant wedding.

A quarter of singletons and one in five 18-25-year-olds are prepared to consider spending more than £15,000 on their big day.

By contrast, 12 per cent of the over 65 age group think spending less than £1,000 on a wedding is sufficient.

"Weddings seem to have been back in fashion in recent years and we have seen average costs increase dramatically," said Ian Corfield, head of Halifax unsecured personal loans.

"However, our survey suggests that there may be a change in opinion as to how much couples should spend. It may be that the costs typically involved have reached a level which is no longer considered reasonable."

But people are typically much more comfortable with splashing out on their honeymoon, with the average cost estimated at £2,475 per couple.

One in five people think £5,000 is a suitable amount to spend on a honeymoon, while only three per cent would spend under £1,000.

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