How We Pulled Off a £10k UK Wedding in 2022 (And Why We Ditched the Spreadsheet)
A real line-by-line breakdown of a £10k wedding budget in the UK. See exactly how much we spent on the venue, photographer, and dress—and how we stopped arguing about the costs.
My wife and I were engaged for 11 years before we finally got married. We refused to go into debt for just one day, so we waited until we were in the exact right financial position to do it our way.
Despite inflation creeping up, we managed to bring the whole day in for roughly £10,000.
If you are currently planning a wedding in the UK and feeling sick looking at the average cost estimates (£20k+), here is exactly where our money went.
The "Meat": The Breakdown
We tracked every single penny. Here is the final "Committed Spend" column from the spreadsheet that ruled our lives for 12 months:
| Item | Cost (£) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Venue & Food | £5,250.00 | Included meal, evening buffet & DJ for 80 day plus 40 evening guests - https://thevu.co.uk/ |
| Rings | £774.00 | |
| Hair & Makeup | £525.00 | |
| Photographer | £509.50 | (We got very lucky here!) - https://www.bearandbutterflyphotography.com/ |
| Humanist | £400.00 | |
| Flowers | £382.50 | |
| Bridesmaids' Dresses | £278.00 | |
| Flower Girls' Dresses | £270.00 | |
| Kilts (Hire) | £250.00 | |
| Photo Booth | £250.00 | |
| Post Box | £185.00 | |
| Groomsmen Gifts | £175.00 | |
| Favours | £174.00 | |
| Invitations | £153.00 | |
| Bridesmaids Gifts | £146.23 | |
| Mothers' Gifts | £80.00 | |
| Hotel | £75.00 | |
| Stamps | £50.00 | |
| Perfume | £50.00 | |
| Page Boys | £22.00 | |
| Shoes | £17.99 | |
| TOTAL | ~£10,017 |
You may notice that there is no item for the bride's dress here, we're very fortunate in that her mum was willing to purchase her wedding dress.
The Conflict: Why We Hated the Spreadsheet
Looking at that list now is satisfying. But at the time? It was a nightmare.
The hardest part wasn't the saving; it was the "admin." We fought constantly over updating the spreadsheet:
- "Did you add the deposit for the flowers?"
- "Why are we spending £50 on stamps?"
- "Which version of the Excel file is the right one?"
We realized that money arguments usually aren't about the money—they are about the organization. The stress of manual tracking nearly ruined the excitement of the engagement.
The Solution: Why We Built Personifi
After the wedding dust settled, we realized that spreadsheets are great for accountants, but terrible for relationships.
We built Personifi to replace the manual "admin" of couple's finance. It gives you a dedicated shared space to track your budget and allows you to easily import transactions from your bank, so you can stop fighting with spreadsheets and focus on the relationship.
If you are drowning in wedding admin right now, you can try the app here.