Top Tips To Pay For Your Big Day

 The wedding season is upon us and with the cost of an average wedding rising to £24,000, this perfect day doesn’t come cheap. Whilst the Lion’s share used to be paid by the Bride’s father, these days couples tend to fund the majority themselves, with contributions from family and occasionally friends.

We’ve asked some Brides and Grooms for their top tips to finance their big day:

1. Because most couples live together before they get married, they generally have crockery, linen and general household items, so rather than putting together a traditional wedding gift list full of items you already have, why not ask guests to contribute to your honeymoon. Sites like honeymoney.co.uk allow Guests to contribute to flights, hotels and even excursions.
2. Plan in advance so you can save a little each month. If you give yourself a couple of years to plan the wedding and are able to save even £100 a month, this gives you £2,400 to start with. Some of our couples set up a direct debit, others just put whatever they had left at the end of every month into a savings account. One of our couples saved weekly rather than monthly – little and often.
3. Research going abroad – some of our couples saved a couple of thousand pounds by having their wedding in a guaranteed sunny destination, where everything was included for a fixed price.
4. Shop around. One of our Brides found her perfect dress but it was unaffordable, so she shopped around online and in other wedding stores and eventually found it for half price. Wedding Fairs can be great for ideas but the term ‘wedding’ seems to make everything more expensive, so take the ideas and then shop around for cheaper alternatives.
5. Make the most of the skills of family and friends. If you know someone who is particularly creative ask if they can help to design your wedding invites. One Groom we interviewed asked his Mum to make the cake and his Aunt to ice it – a combined family effort. Another had a friend who was a florist, so they bought the flowers wholesale and made the bouquets and button holes themselves. Generally there is always someone in the group who fancies themselves as a photographer so put them to good use. One Bride asked her friend to photograph the whole day and just had a professional photographer for a couple of family portraits, which cut the cost. Whether you know musicians, artists or cooks, ask them to get involved – people love to help out and it could save you a lot of money.

If you find yourself short when it comes to paying for your big day, we offer Guarantor Loans for weddings. Even if you have a poor credit history or no credit history we consider everyone.

We lend from £1,000 to £15,000.

For more information and to apply visit: www.tfsloans.co.uk

Representative APR 44.9%, subject to status.