New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day are two popular times of the year when couples become engaged. Those that are newly engaged, or who may be planning a proposal may be quietly cautious of wedding budgets, especially during the cost-of-living crisis that has seen household finances squeezed.
Hitched, a wedding planning website is offering one lucky couple the chance to have their dream wedding up to the value of £25,000. The winning couple will be able to choose up to 10 different wedding suppliers from the Hitched Directory, and all costs within this budget will be covered by Hitched.
This could be the perfect start to a marriage for a couple who want to celebrate in style, but are worried about how they will pay for the wedding of their dreams,
What is included in the wedding prize
- Choose up to 10 different vendors from the Hitched site
- Costs will be covered up to £25,000
- If you have booked some of your vendors already, don't worry as there is a chance to reimburse invoices paid up to £25,000
How to enter the wedding competition
To be in with a chance of winning a free wedding, nearly-weds must sign up to Hitched by February 28, 2023. For more information on how to win your dream wedding and terms and conditions, visit: www.landing.hitched.co.uk/dream-wedding.
Zoe Burke, wedding expert and editor at Hitched says: “The rising cost of living is stressful for everyone, especially after the last few years we’ve had collectively. We don’t want the rising costs to mean that people miss out on having their dream wedding.
"This is why we have decided to give away this amazing prize. At Hitched we believe that every couple should have access to the very best wedding suppliers, to make sure their big day is as special and unique as they are.
"So, we’re going to give one lucky couple the chance to have the wedding of their dreams this year, by giving them £25,000 to spend with the almost-19,000 suppliers we work with. It’s a really exciting competition, and we can’t wait to see how it all turns out.”
The average cost of a wedding
Hitched say their latest National Wedding Survey shows that the average cost of a wedding in the UK has increased to £18,400. This figure saw almost half of last year’s couples (47%) overspend on their wedding budgets, and two thirds of newlyweds dipping into savings pots (59%) or accepting financial gifts from friends and family (63%).
Hitched say their research also show couples spent the majority of their wedding budgets on their dream venue, with the average cost of a venue rising to £8,400 last year, versus £7,600 in 2021. Catering for guests was the second biggest expense for couples, costing £5,670 on average to supply food and drink to a slightly bigger guest list than in 2021.
Last year, couples invited around 81 guests to witness their nuptials. This is a 10% increase on the year before as the previously-enforced Covid-19 restrictions and limitations were finally left behind.
Photography and videography were some of the remaining large expenses, with couples spending around £1,350 on photography and £1,150 on videography for their big days. This increase in spend from 2021 suggests that capturing memories continues to be an important factor for newlyweds.
Zoe added: “Here at Hitched we match hundreds of thousands of couples with our almost 19,000 different dream wedding vendors every year. The free and easy to use wedding planning tools, inspiring content and expert advice help couples every step of the way, from proposal planning to post-wedding life.
“We understand that times are tough right now, so are offering this competition as a way of giving one lucky couple the chance to have their dream wedding, without the worry of the rising cost of living.”
