Bucks wedding venue research reveals big-day planning priorities

Choosing the date, finding a suitable venue and finalising the guest list are the top priorities when planning a wedding, research by Bucks wedding venue, the Mercure Milton Keynes Abbey Hill has found. 

According to a survey of 2,000 married Brits, who gets an invitation to the wedding is the most hotly-contested big-day question, followed by choosing the ideal venue to host it at. Recruiting the perfect caterer and wedding photographer also proved problematic for Brits looking to tie the knot, and 52 per cent found the process of planning their wedding stressful. What's more, one in four married Brits confessed they made some decisions about their wedding day just to keep their parents or in-laws happy, and 25 per cent were careful to ensure older family traditions were observed.

Charlotte Hill, Director of Romance at Mercure Hotels, which commissioned the study, said: “Planning a wedding is a huge challenge, and expectations for the big day are understandably sky-high, so it's no surprise Brits want to put the work in to make sure everything goes smoothly. However, tackling some of the big choices in plenty of time, such as finding the perfect venue, dress and caterer, can take care of the lion's share of the stress of planning a wedding.”

83 per cent of engaged Brits are heavily involved in the planning of their own wedding, while the remaining 17 per cent happily take a backseat and let someone else do the work, nine per cent of which decided to hire a wedding planner to help the process run more smoothly. Well-researched wedding planners manage to get their venue shortlist down to just two, and will make a final decision after visiting the locations.

Brides are most likely to focus on issues affecting the dress, the seating arrangements and the decorations, while grooms tackle the venue, the catering and booking the honeymoon. Brides will try on four different wedding dresses on average before deciding on the perfect look for their big day. One in six start planning their wedding within a week of the proposal, and one in four wait a month for the dust to settle on the engagement before they get to work.

86 per cent of married Brits thought their wedding day went as they planned it, though they also think proceedings could have benefited from another five months in the planning stages, while three in 10 would organise their wedding plans differently if they had the chance to do it all over again. 27 per cent said making decisions about their wedding led to arguments and disagreements with people trying to help. Of these, 46 per cent fell out with their partner over an element of the wedding, and one in four had some choice words for their mother-in-law. Aside from their other half, mum has the biggest say in decisions to do with the wedding, with one in four saying theirs played a pivotal role in the planning stages.

Bearing in mind the potential for family upset, why not invest in a subscription to Your Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wedding instead - planning without the pain!