Brits think Beckham wedding is OTT

Brits are on the fence about Brooklyn Beckham's £3 million wedding this weekend, with over half suggesting under £10,000 is adequate for a wedding allowance.

As Nicola's father Nelson Peltz foots the bill, over four times the amount David and Victoria spent on theirs in 1999, we surveyed 1,000 Brits to ask how much they think is a reasonable amount to spend on a wedding day.

The research, from event experts Gazeboshop found 23% of Brits cap their wedding budget at £5,000, while the majority of those planning weddings are happy to stretch to £10,000 for their celebration. While a reported £50,000 of rare orchids decorated the venue at the Beckhams' big day, only 3.9% of Brits would believe over £50,000 is reasonable to spend on a wedding day.

When it comes to sourcing the money, just 18% of Brits would accept financial support from their partner's parents to pay for their wedding, whereas 31% would lean on their own parents for money for their big day.
In fact, 12% of Brits would rather use a loan company to help pay for their wedding.

To help Brits in planning for their wedding this year, Gazeboshop has collated the best ways to start planning for your big day on a budget.

How best to budget for your wedding in 2022
Everyone's budget will look different this year with some couples using postponed dates as opportunities to save and other's feeling the pinch of rising inflation costs.

It's important to be realistic about how much you can save in time for the big day, and just as important to know how much you are willing to spend on the day itself. For example, while our research showed over two-thirds of Brits think the bride and groom should pay for the bridesmaid's dresses, almost one in five disagree and argue the bridesmaids should cover their own outfits. Establishing what you are willing to cover early on with your budget can help free up finances elsewhere.

As a general rule, it's a good idea to plan to spend around 15-20% less than your absolute maximum budget. This will leave you with a comfortable cushion for any additional expenses.

Establish what you can compromise on
Take care to accommodate things that are important to your partner, even if they're not necessarily a priority for you. Weddings act as a training ground for difficult conversations and disagreements, helping you to learn how to compromise and stick together as a team. Remember to set date nights with your partner where it is completely off limits to talk about the wedding, too, to give you both a break during the process.

The Wedding Dress
Whether you've had the dream dress planned for years or you're open to new trends, the best advice to avoid heartbreak is to set a hard budget before you even set foot in a shop, and simply don't look at any dresses that exceed this budget. If you're sustainability and budget conscious, renting your dress is a feasible option. Not only does this option allow you to wear designer brands you may not necessarily have been able to afford, it's also kinder to the environment.

Choosing the best entertainment for your big day
Once the ceremony is over, the focus shifts on to the reception, often the most exciting and fun part of the day. Live music, Drag Queens and themed parties are set to become wedding staples this year along with couples turning their receptions into adult playgrounds with beer pong, bouncy castles, circus performers and more.

Sam Richards, Marketing Manager at Gazeboshop commented: "Whether the big day is around the corner or you're planning ahead for 2022, wedding planning can be very stressful, with so many elements to think of. We wanted to help take the stress out of some of the planning, by offering our top tips on planning a wedding in 2022, along with collating together the most popular first dance songs and developing a formula to determine what made the perfect accompaniment for your first dance."

Check out gazeboshop.co.uk