Planning your wedding

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes may worry about where to get married. But while they may not have had to worry too much about the costs, most of us do.

According to research in February 2005 by You and Your Wedding Magazine, Joe Public spends on average about £17,000 on their big day.

Barclays offers branch customers a free financial review to help assess their financial needs to ensure they maximise their money and savings for big life events such as weddings.

Some essential wedding money tips:

1. Plan ahead. Book certain things, such as the reception, well in advance; booking a year ahead can sometimes reserve the previous year's prices. List what you need to book and when to pay for it to stop you overspending on duplicate purchases.

2. Set and stick to a budget. While you may want the whole wedding party in Gucci, it might be too costly so strike a balance. List what you need and allocate rough costs - online wedding calculators can help.

3. Shop around. Try to find the best deals on everything - flowers, photographers, catering and so on. Get written estimates before committing to ensure best value for money.

4. Start saving early. When you have a final figure for your part of the wedding budget, assess how you will fund it. Research high interest, easy-access savings accounts that allow a monthly direct credit. Be disciplined with the account - don't be tempted to take money out for a last-minute holiday. How about a loose change collection at home for coins? Or a personal loan with fixed repayments?

5. Prenuptial agreements. While unromantic, one could protect you from unpredictable events. Although not legally binding in the UK, one may be taken into account during a divorce. Speak to your solicitor for information.

6. Who pays for what? Be clear from the outset and agree whether parents will contribute and what they will cover. Starting a feud over who pays for the band will ruin the day and cause untold amounts of stress.

7. Reduce costs. Winter wedding venues are often cheaper. Consider channel-hopping to buy alcohol - although most venues charge corkage, it should be cheaper overall. When hiring photographers, use companies too small to charge VAT. Ask family to arrange the flowers and friends to make the cake and offer cars to and from venues.

8. Little extras add up. Professionally printed invitations, place cards and little gifts all increase costs. Do some of this yourself on your computer.

9. Keep receipts. Mark receipts off against your original budget and if you over or underspend on a particular item, reassess the budget.

10. Ignore peer pressure. Friends may have had white doves, champagne fountains and exotic flowers but you don't have to. Centre your wedding on what you both want and can realistically afford.

Find out more
Personal loans - you may need one to pay for it all.
Barclaycard - for those ad hoc purchases when you're on the high street.
Savings & investments - start saving a regular amount now to help pay for it.
Travel insurance - for the honeymoon.

Important information
Please read our site terms and conditions. In addition we would advise you that: The information given in this article was correct as at December 2006. It does not, however, take account of any changes in regulations or the law since that time.

This article is not a substitute for obtaining professional advice from a qualified person or firm. Barclays is not liable for any opinions expressed. While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained is accurate at the time of publication, no liability for damages is accepted by Barclays, the publishers or any other organisation or person providing information, arising from any errors or omissions that may appear, however caused - or from any editorial alterations to submitted information.

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