Wedding Research 2018

Irish couples are spending 7% more on their Big Day than last year, with average budget totalling €26,015

weddingsonline, the country’s most popular wedding website have just announced the findings of their latest Irish wedding survey. It was based on over 1,200 participants and took place in January 2018.
The average total budget for an Irish wedding including the honeymoon stands at €26,015 with couples allocating on average €12,413 to their dream venue. Over 60% of couples surveyed struggled to stay within budget, with 13% spending over 5K more than they had planned to. 18% of couples look to take out a loan to help fund their special day and 22% of couples get help from their parents. When it comes to booking their ideal suppliers and venues, 45% say that reviews are the most important factor.
This year’s findings from the weddingsonline survey capture the current attitudes towards weddings in Ireland.
·                   The average budget for a wedding including honeymoon is €26,015, up 7% on last year.
·                   Friday and Saturday are still the most popular days for weddings, with Saturday being the top choice (42.41%).
·                   Over half of weddings take place during the summer months with August being the most popular month, followed by July, June and September.
·                   Engagements are spread quite evenly throughout the year with a peak in December (24%).
·                   Couples are enjoying longer engagements with over 27% of engaged couples waiting more than 2 years to get married compared to over 25% last year.
·                   Religious ceremonies are still the most popular (64%), however, they are down 6% on last year while civil and humanist ceremonies are on the rise with 11.75% and 11.25% respectively.
·                   On average couples invite 159 guests to their Big Day.
·                   62% of couples use their savings to fund their wedding, 22% get help from their parents and 18% take out a loan to help cover costs.
·                   Almost 60% of couples surveyed went over budget with 13% spending over 5K more than they had intended to.
·                   The average age for brides tying the knot is 31 years of age while the groom’s average age is 33 years of age.
·                   On average, brides choose 3 bridesmaids and grooms opt for 3 groomsmen.
·                   The hotel venue remains the most popular choice at 67%, followed by the country house at 19%and then castle at 9%.
·                   39% of couples surveyed have their speeches before the meal, 31% opt to have their speeches after the meal and 25% have them between courses. 5% opt to have no speeches at all.
·                   More and more brides are opting to say a few words with 31% giving a speech.
·                   9 out of 10 couples honeymoon abroad with 59% waiting a few months after the wedding before they head off on their honeymoon.
·                   Almost half of couples enjoy a mini-moon in Ireland directly after their wedding.
·                   The average cost of a honeymoon is €5,261.
·                   The most popular honeymoon destinations are The Maldives, the USA, Italy, Mexico and Spain.
·                   Social media remains an important tool in planning weddings, with 69% using Facebook (down 1%), 66% using Pinterest (down 6%), 35% using Instagram (up 3%) and 8% using Snapchat (up 3%) to plan their wedding.
·                   84% of couples have used HIGM (Help I’m Getting Married Facebook Group) for their wedding planning.
·                   45% say that reviews are the most important factor when booking a supplier.
·                   63% of the couples surveyed paid for accommodation for parents, 41.49% paid for accommodation for the bridal party and 21.74% didn’t pay for anyone.
·                   The average spend on each category was as follows:
Venue €12,413
Weddings Rings €1,292
Engagement Ring €1,849
Wedding Band €2,019
DJ €434
Photographer €1,597
Videographer €1,283
Wedding Dress €1,787
Ceremony Music €440
Evening Entertainment (Non Musical – Magician, dancers, comedian etc.) €570
Honeymoon €5,261
Celebrant €347
Make-up Total (inc. Bridesmaids) €368*
Hair Total (inc. Bridesmaids) €313*
Wedding Planner €1,523
Bridesmaid Dresses €726*
Accessories €504
Wedding Suits €1,068**
Wedding Car €457
Wedding Cake €378
Décor €677
Flowers €674
Invitations €369
Ceremony Booklets €257
Foodie Treats €358
Hen/Stag per person €253
*average of 3 bridesmaids
**4-5 suits bought on average

About weddingsonline
Launched in 2000, weddingsonline has become Ireland’s busiest wedding community and recently expanded into the UAE and India. Over 80% of all engaged couples in Ireland use weddingsonline at some point in their wedding plans. weddingsonline is popular for its lively forums, online wedding directory, competitions, real weddings and daily planning tips and advice. Over 1000 wedding industry suppliers have made weddingsonline their marketing partner in Ireland. weddingsonline acquired Irish wedding website Mrs2Be in May 2016, award-winning wedding planning software Moposa in December 2016 and works in partnership with popular Facebook group, ‘HIGM (‪weddingsonline.ie‬ – Help! I’m getting married)’.

For further media information please contact:
Jonathan Bryans | Tel: ‪01 905 9685‬ or email: [email protected]