Weekend Money: Why Britons are turning away from traditional weddings (2024)

By Emily Mee, Money team

Heather-Anne Horton was having recurring nightmares before her big wedding.

She and her fiance Josh had booked a manor house in the UK for their wedding, along with a band, caterers, florist and cake.

Although she knew she wanted to marry Josh, in her nightmares it would get to the big day and she would realise she'd forgotten to write her vows in all the stress of planning everything, financial worries and pressure from some family members.

So when Josh told her he was feeling anxious about standing up in front of 70 people to read their vows, they agreed: "What are we doing? Let's just not do this. This is crazy."

They cancelled their big wedding (losing a few deposits in the process) and decided on exactly what they wanted: a beach wedding, just the two of them, in Mauritius.

It seems they are part of a growing trend.

Data shared with the Money blog shows Pinterest searches for elopement inspiration and small budget weddings have been "soaring" over recent months.

Aside from saving money, Heather-Anne says choosing to elope has taken the pressure off - and now she feels "100% relief".

The couple will be getting married barefoot in the sand with a treehouse dinner by candlelight afterwards, and after that they will be spending 10 days on safari in South Africa for their honeymoon.

And despite the fact they're staying in five-star resorts and haven't "skimped out", they're spending half as much money - £15,000 instead of £30,000.

Wedding planner Georgie Mitchell from Georgina Rose Eventssays she is seeing more and more couples opting for "low-key" weddings, whether it's to save money or just because they have different priorities.

"There are huge pressures to spend lots of money on one day, but unfortunately the tradition of parents paying is definitely decreasing and therefore couples have to foot the bill – and not many young couples have £30,000 lying around!" she says.

She doesn't think big weddings will die out - "I think for every couple opting for a smaller wedding, you'll have one that will be even bigger and more expensive" - but there is a trend towards couples doing their big day "how they want".

This was the case for Zoe Ashbridge-Law and her husband Stew, who had always known they didn't want a traditional wedding.

Zoe says she hated the thought of doing a first dance, while Stew is "quite introverted" so found the thought of doing a speech "nerve-wracking".

"We were trying to avoid paying for a day that actually wouldn't bring us any joy," Zoe says.

They've been cycling around the world since 2019, writing for their blog Road to Frame- and it was during their trip around New Zealand that they decided to get married.

Their wedding day in October 2023 cost them £2,226.

"I was worried about it maybe feeling a bit soulless without family being there, but the opposite was true. It was really meaningful," says Zoe.

The couple told their families the weekend after the wedding, and although they had felt "waves of guilt" at the time they were "shocked at just how happy everyone was".

Overall, they say it was well worth it to do what they wanted - and it saved them a lot of money in the process.

Eloping for your wedding doesn't have to mean going abroad - it can also just be about having a very select few people at the ceremony.

For Chris and Becky Lockyer, their decision to keep their wedding small was down to finances.

"We originally were planning on having the traditional wedding and having the big ceremony and the big party. We even picked our venue and everything and we were dead set," says Becky.

"Then the more we looked into it and the more we priced it up, we were like 'this is crazy, it's so, so expensive'."

They decided to have a two-witness wedding in the local council office on a Wednesday morning, followed by a three-course meal at the pub with their two families.

All in all, the day cost them less than £500 - a far cry from the £13,000 budget they were originally looking at.

"I think more and more people are going our route because everything is more expensive now, and I think young people are more interested in putting down roots and buying houses and travelling and setting down those more long-term goals," says Becky.

"The reason we got married is because we love each other and you don't have to spend thousands of pounds to do that."

The deadline for using your annual ISA allowance is 5 April.

Here's a breakdown of what you need to know...

What is an ISA and how do they work?

An ISA, or individual savings accounts, allows you to save money without having to pay tax on any interest gained.

Every tax year you can put up to £20,000 into your ISA or ISAs.

The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April.

So, if you want to maximise your tax-free savings and you have the money, make sure you've deposited your full £20,000 by 5 April before we start all over again on 6 April.

What types of ISAs are there?

Cash ISA

Just like any savings account, you put money into a cash ISA and let it accrue tax-free interest.

Some are instant access while others require you to lock money in for a certain period of time in order to get higher interest rates on your savings.

Stocks and Shares ISA

These allow people to invest in funds (shares or bonds) from companies.

With this one, you need to look at it as a medium to long-term commitment and experts suggest you should put money away for a minimum of five years to reap the benefits.

It is important to note there is always an element of risk when it comes to investing in stocks and shares.

Innovative financeISA

This involves investing your money through an online portal and loaning this money to borrowers or businesses.

The interest rates on these types of ISAs are higher but your money is at risk because it is not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

Lifetime ISA

The LISA is a good option for anyone aged between 18 and 39, as you can deposit up to £4,000 a year and you'll receive a government bonus of 25% on each deposit, which you can keep as long as you use the proceeds to buy your first house – or until you are aged at least 60 as a retirement pot.

What do you need to do now?

If you are unsure about whether you have any ISA allowance left for this tax year, check with your provider.

The deadline for using your allowance this year is midnight on 5 April and after that you will get a new allowance for the next tax-year (2024-2025).

You cannot roll over any unused allowance so it is important to utilise your full £20,000 yearly allowance if you can.

Almost all landlords who sell up from April will pay more capital gains tax, research by Hamptons International suggests - despite a cut revealed by the chancellor earlier this month.

That's because the cut is outweighed by the shrinking of the "tax free allowance" rate, announced by Jeremy Hunt last year.

Back then, the chancellor more than halved this allowance to £6,000 - and it's falling again to £3,000 from 6 April, dragging more sellers into paying capital gains.

It's a similar story to the national insurance cut - which for many has been outweighed by the freezing of personal tax allowances (the amount you can earn before paying income tax or the higher rate of income tax).

All lower-rate sellers and 89% belonging in a higher tax-rate group will see their capital gains tax bill rise from 2022 levels, it is claimed.

"The chancellor made it clear he was hoping to encourage landlords to sell up and add new housing supply into the market," saidAneisha Beveridge from Hamptons.

But "most landlords leaving the market this year will end up paying more tax than two years ago, not less".

A big week of financial news is over - so let's take stock.

On Wednesday we learned that inflation dropped more than expected, from 4% to 3.4%, in February.

The reduction in the energy price cap in April is likely to see another big drop then - but the Bank of England is concerned price rises could accelerate again later this year.

On Thursday, it said it wanted to see more evidence inflation could get to, and stick around, the 2% target - and so it held the base interest rate at its 16-year high of 5.25% for another six weeks at least.

Markets are still expecting a first cut - one of perhaps three this year - in June. No big changes there.

The cautious tone from BoE governor Andrew Bailey was maintained - but he let slip under questioning that market expectations were "reasonable".

For now, though, mortgage rates remain fairly static. As of Thursday, the average two-year fixed was 5.81% and for five years 5.39%, according to Moneyfacts. These are averages, so many buyers and those remortgaging will be able to secure lower rates - in the 4-5% range.

Savers, meanwhile, have been urged to act now while rates remain high.

Adam Thrower, head of savings at Shawbrook Bank, said: "Another unchanged base rate means savers can continue to benefit, but only if they take advantage of the higher rates still on offer.

"Many are still potentially missing out by not knowing what interest, if anything, they are being paid on their savings.

"Our research found that two in five (40%) savers don't know how much money from interest they're earning each year on their savings. It is vital savers know this so they can see if there are better options elsewhere."

Here's some of the best savings rates available...

On the wider economy, Andrew Bailey said the technical recession seen at the end of 2023 appeared to be "subsiding".

We also got official data on the UK housing market this week.

Office for National Statistics figures showed the average UK house price fell by an estimated 0.6% in the year to January 2024, taking the average price of a home in the UK to £282,000.

The average private rent was £1,238 in February - £102 higher than 12 months earlier.

The average monthly private rent was highest in Kensington and Chelsea (£3,248) and lowest in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland (£472).

Excluding London, the local area with the highest average private rent in February was the city of Bristol (£1,734).

Separate, and slightly more current, figures from Rightmove - which focus on asking price rather than sale price - paint the picture in March like this...

The Money blog is your place for consumer news, economic analysis and everything you need to know about the cost of living - bookmark news.sky.com/money.

It runs with live updates from Monday to Friday - while on Saturdays we scale back and offer you a selection of weekend reads.

Check them out this morning and we'll be back at the start of next week with rolling news and features.

The Money team is Emily Mee, Bhvishya Patel, Jess Sharp, Katie Williams, Brad Young and Ollie Cooper, with sub-editing by Isobel Souster. The blog is edited by Jimmy Rice.

A warning has been issued over a proposed merger between Vodafone and Three.

The £15bn deal would create the UK's largest mobile phone network if given the go ahead, but the Competition and Markets Authority has said it could lead to customers facing higher prices and reduced quality.

"Whilst Vodafone and Three have made a number of claims about how their deal is good for competition and investment, the CMA has not seen sufficient evidence to date to back these claims," Julie Bon, phase one decisionmaker for the case at the CMA, said.

"Our initial assessment of this deal has identified concerns which could lead to higher prices for customers and lower investment in UK mobile networks."

Retail sales flatlined in February as "extremely" wet weather put off shoppers from heading to the high street.

There was 0% growth in the sector last month, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Friday.

It said a good performance for clothes shops and department stores was offset by falls in food and fuel sales, possibly because of rising prices at the pumps.

However, it appears the weather also had a major impact as consumers shunned in-person stores in favour of online shopping.

You can read more here...

Mobile networks will have to send roaming alerts to customers travelling abroad and provide information about the charges that apply under new regulator rules.

Ofcom has said the regulations will help better protect mobile users against unexpected roaming charges.

It comes after it found the quality of the information being provided can be "inconsistent and unclear" and 19% of customers were unaware of the extra charges.

The new rules, which will come into force from 1 October, will require providers to give "clear, free to access information, so customers can make informed decisions about whether - and how - to use their mobile phone abroad".

Uswitch has welcomed the news, but said there was "virtually nothing to stop providers from charging enormous sums" for using a phone abroad.

"While we support these new rules, including roaming alerts and clear information on costs, they fall vastly short of the protections that consumers had come to expect," it said.

"They will only come into force from October, so those travelling abroad this summer will still need to take extra precautions to avoid any surprises."

The new England football kit has been making headlines this week for two reasons - its expensive price tag and its version of the St George's Cross.

Here's what you need to know:

The price

An "authentic" version of the shirt costs £124.99 for adults and £119.99 for children, while a "stadium" version is £84.99 and £64.99 for children.

The high price makes it the most expensive football shirt in the country.

Last year, an adult stadium shirt cost £74.95 while a child's top cost £59.95.

The flag

Nike, the designer of the kit, also made some changes to the St George's Cross that has sparked debate.

The traditional red cross was tweaked and features purple and blue stripes.

The company dubbed it "a playful update" to the shirt ahead of Euro 2024, inspired by the training kit worn by England's 1966 World Cup winners.

A Nike spokesperson previously said: "The England 2024 home kit disrupts history with a modern take on a classic.

"The trim on the cuffs takes its cues from the training gear worn by England's 1966 heroes, with a gradient of blues and reds topped with purple.

"The same colours also feature an interpretation of the flag of St George on the back of the collar."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned against "messing with" the national flags, saying they are "a source of pride, identity, who we are and they are perfect as we are".

Responding to the Nike redesign, former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, the country's most capped men's player, said he was against the design and the price.

Passport application fees are set to rise next month, the government has announced.

While the proposals still need to be scrutinised by parliament for approval, it is likely they will be passed.

If approved, it will mark the second year in a row the prices have been hiked following a 9% increase in February 2023.

They are set to rise by around 7% on Thursday 11 April.

What are the new fees?

Under the proposals,a standard online application made from within the UK will rise by £6 to £88.50 for adults and by £4 to £57.50 for children.

A postal application will go up by £7 to £100 for adults and £69 for children.

The one-week fast track service is also increasing by £11.50 for adults (£155) and £9.50 for children (£135.50).

If you are applying from overseas, the price is rising to £101 for adults and £65.50 for children.

Why are they rising?

The Home Office said the new fees will help it better meet "the cost of delivering passport and associated operations, reducing reliance on funding from general taxation".

"The fees contribute to the cost of processing passport applications, consular support overseas, including for lost or stolen passports, and the cost of processing British citizens at UK borders," it said on the government website.

"The increase will also help enable the government to continue improving its services."

Is it worth renewing early?

MoneySavingExpert says it is worth renewing early to avoid the increased rates - but only if you have less than 10 months left on your current passport.

The time left on it your passport is no longer added on to the expiry date of your new passport.

A standard adult passport lasts for 10 years and used to cost £72.50 – which works out to around 60p per month of ownership, it said.

This means you would save money by renewing early - but if it is valid for longer than 10 months, then you might be worse off.

Basically, the closer your passport is to expiring, the more it's worth renewing before the new fees kick in.

Looking for a last minute Easter weekend break away? Helpfully, Which? has put together a list of the cheapest destinations for holiday cottages.

The consumer champion found there are more than 14,000 properties still available to rent over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Booking now will cost an average of £800 for a week's stay, it added.

The cheapest region was found to be Shropshire, with the average holiday cottage costing a huge £400 less than a week in the most expensive area - the Outer Hebrides.

Here are the destinations Which? found to be the cheapest:

Nationwide has apologised after all payments in and out of customer accounts were delayed this morning.

The issue, which has since been resolved, had affected the building society's faster payments system.

Some users had complained online that they hadn't received their wages, and had been unable to pay their bills.

Others said they couldn't access their finances while their transfers were disrupted.

While the problem has been fixed, Nationwide has said it could still take "a few hours" for impacted payments to be processed.

"We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused," it added.

Customers have been urged not to resend or duplicate payments because of the delays.