Irish couples are spending an average of €24,000 on their weddings and honeymoons according to a recent survey.
Mrs2Be.ie quizzed nearly two and a half thousand brides about their big day, and found that attitudes in Ireland are changing.
The most important things to happy couples now are not the dress and the venue with average spends going down. Instead, more of the wedding fund is being spent on the photographer, DJ and cake, and of course the hair and make-up for the bride.
Couples in Ireland are spending nearly €20,000 on their big day, before the honeymoon is taken into account.
Other interesting points to come out of the survey are that engagements are now shorter on average than in the past. One in three now last between 13 and 18 months, the most common answer in the survey. That is compared to a previous survey when the most common waiting time for couples was more than two years.
More than a quarter of couples have lived together for more than five years before they tie the knot, with only 9% waiting to get married before living together.
As well as the preparations, the big day itself is changing with nearly 40% choosing to have the speeches before dinner at the wedding reception. That dinner costs an average of €41 to €60 per head, which soon adds up when you consider that most weddings have between 101 to 150 hungry guests to feed.
Keith Malone of mrs2be.ie revealed the most common regrets couples had about their big day: “Should have got a videographer to capture the day as it goes by so fast; Should have allocated more budget to the photographer; Should have given a bit more time to the wedding photos on the day; Should have started getting organised for the wedding earlier; Shouldn’t have bothered with wedding speeches.”
The survey also found that the majority of Irish people still want a traditional church wedding, with three quarters opting to tie the knot in a church.