By David Field

In these days of heavy debt, rising interest rates and the ever spiralling cost of living, it seems that even weddings are getting ridiculously expensive. Apparently the average cost of a wedding is now something like £17,000 - a stupid amount of money, in my opinion, to be spending on the events of a single day. I find myself sympathising with Steve Martin in Father of the Bride, and wondering whether I will ever find myself in a similar situation - demanding daughters after the money in my pockets. If you need to save for a wedding, our savings account search is a smart way of finding the best interest rates from many providers.

The problem, however, is that now it's not just the families that have to think about spending these vast sums whenever someone decides to get married. These days, even the guests are expected to fork out. According to a survey recently conducted by the insurance company Churchill, a typical wedding guest at a typical wedding will need to spend in excess of £340 every time one of their friends of relatives decides to get hitched. This means that wedding guests spend an average total of £39,000 per wedding - amounting to £13.8 billion every year.

So where on earth does all of this money go? The first thing to consider is the basic costs associated with any social event. Assuming they don't live down the road, most relatives and friends are going to need to pay for travel and accommodation. Once you start getting people flying in from around the world to watch the happy couple tie the not, travel costs can climb into their hundreds, pushing that average up.

Then there is the dreaded wedding list. I swear that wedding lists are design specifically to bankrupt people. They comprise of ridiculously expensive items that the newlyweds know they won't be able to afford, so they demand that their closest family and friends buy them instead. Obviously there are a couple of cheaper items thrown in, so that it doesn't seem quite so much like daylight robbery, but buying these just make you feel a bit cheap.

Apparently, spending around £50 on a wedding present is regarded as about right. Anything less and you start looking ungrateful for the invite, anything more and your splashing your cash around a bit too much. And then there's buying an outfit especially for the big day (I never do this) and paying for lots of drinks at the stag party before hand (I always do this). The cost just keep adding up, so suddenly £340 doesn't seem like such a ridiculous figure after all.

There is a central misunderstanding that has caused the cost of attending a wedding to shoot up so much. For the couple it's a special day that will define the rest of their lives. For many of the guests it's just another piss-up. I'm no Hugh Grant, but I been to a few receptions in my time.