According to Martha Stewart…
Words by Lexxi Davis
Your wedding day is arguably the best day of your life. From the moment you get engaged, Pinterest boards become your best friends (so many wedding hairstyles to choose from!), your evening reading material becomes every bridal mag you can find and every weekend starts to get booked up with viewings, tastings, fittings and the rest.
Queen of all things wedding related, Martha Stewart, has seen it all and knows a thing or two about the perfect way to wed. That’s why we were surprised when the event expert revealed the wedding trend she would like to see the back of...
'The three-year engagement I think is becoming passé. I personally hate anything longer than six months engagements." Martha told guests at the Martha Stewart Wedding Party, "Once engaged, speed it up.'
While a lot of brides-to-be enjoy a long engagement, giving them plenty of time to plan and save for their special day, Martha believes girls these days are luckier than past generations. 'Millennial brides have it easier. They all have money and are employed — or most of them, and they're smart. So they are planning the unusual, the different, and the exciting kinds of weddings.'
But with the average wedding in the UK costing just over £30,000, it's not as easy as booking it all in one go. On average, a bride's dress alone is going to set you back £1,378 (according to Bride's Magazine), and the venue can be expected to total over £6k too. So unless you’ve got a cool thirty grand going spare, we think it’s safe to say we’re only going to see an increase in long engagements.
While we appreciate that you think we're all money saving experts, the de rigueur of the previous generation was to get wed at the weekend, but sadly for us, astronomical increases in weekend wedding prices are forcing us 'smart millennials' to marry mid-week. So while we'd all love a 6-month engagement. Unfortunately, the 3-year trend is more of a necessity.