Ditch the wedding planner?

There has been a fuss over the past couple of days about an increase in the fee for a wedding in the Anglican Church. Apparently it has increased from £284 to £425. Considering that the average spend on a wedding is in the region of £20,000, it seems a bit churlish to complain about the rise. To put it in perspective, the new fee is roughly what it costs to hire the wedding car. Another approach would be for the C of E to say that they would accept the same as the fee charged by the photographer – normally somewhere between £750 and £1500.

In the Daily Telegraph's report we are told that wedding planners have warned that the changes could force couples to cut their guest list and go without flowers to find the extra money. Yes – wedding planners – another unnecessary expense perhaps?

My own approach is to pass on the fees for the registration of the wedding (£40), the organist (£100-130) and leave people to give a donation. (A historic Catholic Church might need to charge a fee for using the Church, especially if people regularly come from outside the parish just because the Church is good for photographs.) I always tell people that they can get married here for the same cost as in the Register Office if they can’t afford anything more, or just want a quiet wedding: I want people to get married. In fact, most people’s expenses on things like the photographer, the car, the reception (and sometimes the “wedding planner”) dwarf anything they have to pay to the Church, Catholic or Anglican.