Martin Lewis tells cash-strapped brides:‘A happy marriage is more important than a great wedding.’

With wedding season now officially in full swing, Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has issued some sage advice to couples hoping to tie the knot, as he weighed in on the costs associated with weddings. The 52 year old financial guru, who himself is happily married to wife Lara Lewington, opened up about the reality of wedding costs as part of a Q&A session on the MSE App.

During the session, one bride to be named Emma asked Martin: “Getting married is so important to me, how can I do it on a low income?”

The Money Saving Expert then candidly told her: “Look, you don’t have to. If marriage is what counts for you. If you love your partner and want to make that legal, public, lawful commitment to get married - then get married.”

He then continued:”You don’t have to have a huge, big ceremony. I know many people you’ll find in our MoneySaving Weddings guide, stories of people who’ve just worn a nice dress, or borrowed a dress from a friend or got something from a charity shop - and then gone to the park afterwards to celebrate with a couple of picnic blankets and asked all their friends to bring their own food and bring their own booze.”

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“It is a social pressure that you have to have the big white wedding with hundreds of guests - you don’t! If you can and you want to and you can afford it, great. But I am always minded that it’s more important to have a happy stress-free marriage than an amazing, huge wedding.”

Reflecting on how it’s okay not to have a huge lavish wedding, Martin then added: “So if your wedding is going to lead you into debt or discomfort or depression because it impacts your life and your finances afterwards in