Getting married is an expensive business, there’s just no getting away from it, but one sure-fire way to cut your costs substantially is by having your wedding on a weekday.
There is a rising trend in Europe in couples getting wed on weekdays, with only 60% of couples in England and Wales having a typical Saturday wedding. In the US around 2.4m couples get married per year, but only an average of 100,040 of those take place on weekdays. (About.com)
In the US the average wedding budget is now over $20,000, with a great deal of that cost going toward hiring a venue for the ceremony and reception. Hiring on a weekday however can cost substantially less than a weekend booking, some venues dropping to less than half the price. Pricing discounts differ from venue to venue, but Monday to Thursday bookings are generally much less expensive, with Fridays sometimes a little pricier.
Catering companies will also often offer discounts for weekday bookings over pricier weekend or ‘peak time’ events, and shopping around you may be able to negotiate an even better deal.
According to USA WedLink, while couples have an average budget of over $20,000 for their wedding, they only spend on average $3,000 on the honeymoon. Imagine the kind of honeymoon you could have with all the money you could save by having your wedding on a weekday.
The only problem you will likely encounter with arranging a weekday wedding is attendance. People have work and other commitments, so make a list of whom you absolutely must have there and talk to them before booking. If you give enough notice your loved ones should find a way to take the time off.
If you book your wedding on a Monday, or on a Thursday or Friday before a bank holiday you can give your loved ones a great excuse to take just one day off work and enjoy an extra long weekend.
Weekday weddings make a lot of sense for a lot of couples. It’s not like you’ll be having a ‘budget’ wedding, you can have exactly what you want but for less money, just for being on a weekday!
Laura Callahan is the finance writer for www.lv.com, when she isn’t writing about car insurance and life insurance she’s blogging about great money saving tips!
