FOR many couples it is the biggest day of their lives - and it seems that weddings in Scotland are getting bigger every year.
New figures show that last year the happy couples spent an average of £19,507 tying the knot, an increase of four per cent on the year before.
According to a survey carried out by the latest Scottish Wedding Directory, hosting the reception was the single biggest expense of the wedding, with the bride and groom spending an average £7,627, while the honeymoon came in a distant but expensive second at £2,771.
But even apparently inconsequential details of the ceremony can be expensive, with flowers costing £470 on average, slightly ahead of stationery and favours, said to cost £407 on average.
The figures are contained in the Wedding Directory's first wedding census, which analyses the spend and trends from the 2013 wedding market.
It surveyed more than 1,000 brides on their preparations, spending and how they fared against their budget.
Around 40 per cent of brides and grooms getting married in Scotland paid for their own wedding.
Scottish Wedding Directory Editor Natasha Radmehr said it was the first census of its kind and had provided some "fascinating" results.
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