An expensive day

A new Visa survey suggests that 88% of married couples believe they overspent on some part of their wedding.

At the top of the list was food, drink and cake, with 18% of respondents reporting they overspent on those items, followed by 14% who spent too much on their hotel and honeymoon, 12% who over did it on other parts of their reception and 11% who could have cut back on their clothing costs.

"The money conversation needs to happen as soon as you become engaged, not while you are on the way to the altar," Jason Alderman, senior director of financial education, for Visa, said in a statement. "For most couples, their wedding is the first major financial decision they will make together and can set the tone for how they deal with money for the rest of their lives. Money is one of the most critical issues married couples deal with and it’s important to get it right from the start."

OTHER SURVEY FINDINGS
• Couples spent an average of $8,721 on their wedding and honeymoon.

• Women (14%) were twice as likely as men (7%) to say the one item they overspent most on was clothing/dress/tux.

• Men (17%) were five points more likely to say honeymoon/hotel than women (12%).

• And men (14%) were four points more likely to believe the reception was the budget busting item than women (10%).

• The survey also found wide disparity in the overall costs of weddings and honeymoons, with 26% of respondents spending more than $10,000; 19% spent between $5,001 to $10,000; 30% spent $1,000 to $5,000; 5% spent $501 and $1,000; 18% spent $1 to $500; and 2% spent nothing.