1 in 10 worry they’ll be jilted at the altar

• 1 in 10 married Brits worried they’d be stood up at the altar
• 1 in 3 feared their wedding day would be blighted by bad weather
• Keeping costs down is the number one cause of pre-wedding stress
• Median cost of a wedding in the UK is £8,000

The biggest wedding day worry for one in 10 married Brits was being stood up at the altar, according to research* conducted by Ocean Finance.

Men were marginally more likely to fear this than women, and 18 to 24-year-olds (22%) were more than twice as likely to worry about their partner changing their mind than the average (10%).

For the majority (36%) of Brits who have tied the knot in the past five years, the biggest wedding day fear was bad weather – something men were much more concerned about than women.

Other wedding day fears included: something going wrong with the wedding dress or suit (13%); guests falling out (9%); getting cold feet and changing their own mind (9%); crying, fainting or tripping over during the ceremony (7%); and something going wrong with the catering (7%).

Pre-wedding stress

With venues, décor, catering, accommodation, transport and attire to fork out for, it’s perhaps no surprise keeping costs down came out top of the wedding planning stress list – 25 to 34-year-olds were most likely to get flustered about the financing.

18 to 24-year-olds (26%) were almost twice as likely as the average to stress over securing the perfect venue, with 25 to 34-year-olds least likely.

More than double the men (9%) than women (4%) said sorting accommodation for guests was the most worrisome part of planning their big day.

Weddings costs

Excluding extreme variables, the median amount couples in the UK spend on their wedding is £8,000.

With one in 10 Brits who tied the knot in the past five years forking out between £19,000 and £30,000 though, an £8,000 price tag is just a fantasy for some – 35 to 44-year-olds were most likely to spend in excess of £19,000.

On the other hand, almost one quarter (23%) of financially savvy newlyweds said they managed to thrift their way to a wedding that cost £2,000 or less – significantly lower than the national average.

From one extreme to the other, the cost of weddings greatly vary:

When financing their big day, more than half (52%) of those who’ve tied the knot since 2011 said they paid for the event with money they had saved up. Just over a third (34%) said they received financial help from parents or other family members.

Furthermore, 7% said they used credit cards and slightly fewer (6%) took out a loan – 18 to 24-year-olds were most likely to have taken out a loan to finance their wedding.

Ian Williams, Ocean spokesperson, said: “The wedding industry is an expensive business. While you undoubtedly want to make it a memorable day, remember to only spend or borrow what you can afford. It’s all well and good having the perfect day, but if you’re left in a financial slump as a result of this, it may not be worth it in the long-term.”

Editors’ notes

*Red Dot questioned a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adults aged 18 and over between 14th March 2016 – 17th March 2016, of whom 636 were Scottish residents.

About Ocean Finance

Established in 1991, Ocean Finance is one of the UK’s leading loan and mortgage brokers. The company works with many of the UK’s leading loan and mortgage lenders to help people find the right deal.

Website: www.oceanfinance.co.uk

For further information please contact:

Ian Williams
Ian.williams@thinkmoneygroup.com
@iwill41
Tel: 0161 605 6005 / Mob: 07855 214851