finance

A bride's parents will still pay the most for their daughter’s wedding, forking out up to 113% more than the parents of the groom, according to new research by short term loan provider Wonga.

The poll of 1,000 adults that included parents of the bride, parents of the groom, best men, maids of honour, bridesmaids, ushers and wedding guests, looked at who pays the most money to be part of the big day.

The tradition of the bride’s parents paying for the entirety of the wedding may be a thing of the past, but the research did reveal significant differences in costs still exist between the in-laws.

Along with buying your first property, paying for a wedding can be one of the most expensive things you are likely to do in life. In fact, recent research shows that the average cost of a British wedding is now £26,989 (and rising). As a result, many newlyweds start their marriage in debt, putting a slight dampener on the new marital bliss. Pension and savings specialists Standard Life have provided some tips around how to combat this potentially stressful situation so you can enter married life on the best financial foot.

How to enter life on the best financial foot

Make a budget and stick to it

One in ten of us spend more than a year planning a wedding, whilst a fifth of us spend up to six months. Yet ironically more than a third of us spend less than 15 minutes searching for finance options to help out with the costs of a wedding.

The research from Swedish challenger Ikano Bank also found that more than 300,000 people who borrowed money for their wedding wasted more than £450 by not shopping around for the best deal.