weddingsonline, the country’s most popular wedding website have just announced the findings of their latest Irish wedding survey. It was based on 1,023 participants and took place in January 2024.
The survey revealed that a massive 69% of engaged couples wait more than 18 months to get married, with just 9% having engagements shorter than 12 months. This might be due to the popularity of peak dates such as the summer months, with almost half of weddings taking place between May and August, and 76% opting for a Friday or Saturday wedding.
Couples rely heavily on reviews and recommendations (56%), selecting their favourite choice (28%), with only 9% stating that price was their deciding factor.
This year’s findings from the weddingsonline survey capture the current attitudes towards weddings in Ireland.
- The average budget for a wedding is €33,083 (not including honeymoon).
- Friday and Saturday are still the most popular days for weddings (76%), with midweek (21%) and Sunday (3%) weddings becoming more popular.
- The busiest months for weddings is June and August (each 13%), followed by May and July (both 11%), with 52% of our participants getting married in 2024 and 30% getting married in 2025.
- The most popular month to pop the question is December (26%). Engagements in other months range between 4% and 8%. June, July and August account for 24% of engagements.
- Couples are having longer engagements with a massive 69% of engaged couples waiting more than 18 months to get married and just 9% of engagements shorter than 12 months.
- 6% of couples are enlisting the help of a wedding planner.
- 44% of ceremonies are church weddings.
- 4% of weddings have fewer than 50 guests, 41% have more than 150 guests, with the average number of guests being 144.
- 31% of couples had their parents help pay for their wedding and 37% got a loan.
- 53% of couples surveyed went over budget with 22% spending over to 5K more than they had intended to.
- The average age for couples tying the knot is 33 for men and 32 for women.
- The average number of people in the wedding party (including the couple) was 8.
- The hotel venue remains the most popular choice at 65%, followed by the country house at 18% and then castles at 11%.
- Just 23% of couples surveyed have their speeches after the meal, with 8% not having speeches at all.
- The Top 5 wedding counties are Meath, Cork, Kerry, Dublin, Cavan and Kildare.
- 4% of couples choose destination weddings, with Portugal, Italy and Spain as the popular wedding destinations.
- The average honeymoon budget was €5616.
- 93% of couples honeymoon abroad with 67% waiting a few months after the wedding before they head off on their honeymoon.
- 52% of couples will take a mini-moon in Ireland straight after the wedding.
- The most popular honeymoon destinations are USA (17%), Maldives (17%), Greece (16%), Italy (13%) and Spain (11%).
- The deciding factor for which suppliers to book was reviews and recommendations (56%), favourite choice (28%), with only 9% stating that price was their deciding factor.
- 99% would recommend weddingsonline to a friend.
What would you do differently?
- “Not listen to others.”
- “Hire a wedding planner.”
- “Stressed less.”
- “Absolutely nothing.”
The average spend in each category was as follows:
Engagement Rings: €3173
Wedding Rings: €1468
Band: €2492
DJ: €694
Photographer: €2094
Videographer: €1760
Wedding Dress: €2042
Ceremony Music: €569
Drinks Reception Entertainment: €640
Evening Entertainment: €1025
Celebrant or other Officiant: €489 (this figure includes priests and HSE registrars at varying costs / voluntary contributions)
Makeup (bride only): €158
Makeup (per bridesmaid): €100
Hairstyling (per bride): €123
Hairstyling (per bridesmaid): €74
Wedding Planner: €1844
Bridesmaid Dresses (per bridesmaid): €300
Beauty Treatments (teeth, botox, tanning): €605
Accessories: €336
Price per suit: €319
Average number of suits bought: 4
Photobooth / Selfie mirror: €545
Wedding Car: €618
Wedding Cake: €454
Décor (Ceremony): €521 (this figure may include flowers)
Décor (Venue): €712 (this figure may include flowers)
Flowers: €921 (some flower spend may be included in decor)
Invites: €291
Foodie Treats: €407
Ceremony booklets (per booklet): €5
Hen & Stag (per person): €248
For further information please contact:
Jonathan Bryans
01 963 0432
A big thank you to all our respondents and a huge congratulations to our voucher winner, Michelle Fullam.
