We all love a good soap opera wedding. They are either so romantic they make you weep, or so devastating and shocking they make you wretch – or the other way around, we’re not quite sure. Regardless of the incredible plot lines though, we have all found ourselves coveting the stunning wedding gown, scrutinising the floral bouquets, admiring the smart venues, and perhaps even wondering about how much the fantastic gourmet buffet cost. Well, wonder no longer, as we have researched the costs of some of the most famous and memorable soap opera weddings from Eastenders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks. Which soap wedding does yours most resemble?

Kat and Alfie Moon – Eastenders – 25th December 2003

Kat and Alfie were married in their own pub (at the time), the Queen Vic. We’re assuming that the premises must have already had a marriage licence as the registrar declares that the place has been sanctioned under law for the celebration of the marriage, and as Alfie only proposed the month before, it is highly unlikely that they managed to rush through an application in time for their Christmas day nuptials. For that reason, we have only included the price of the registrar, who gave up his Christmas lunch at last minute to perform the ceremony. Fees for approved venues in Hackney on Public Holidays are £654, including the certificates.

It is likely that the most money was spent on the attire. The bride’s wedding outfit was not particularly classy, but with its bright red fabric, flattering twisted waist and diamante embellishments, plus the long train and the gold, cropped overcoat – nor was this an ensemble from Walford market. Plus, with the three bridesmaids, and one best man in attendance, the attire budget would have needed to have been reasonably significant. In total, we estimate around £1,665.

The decorations looked to be quite cheap, plus the pub will have already been decorated for Christmas, but there was one additional item that will have eaten into their budget: Kat’s dream was to have a white wedding day, so Alfie bought a snow machine to make her dream come true. In total then, the decorations (including flowers) will have come to around £340.

The piano player would have been a little bit more pricey, with him having to give up his Christmas, but at least the drinks will have been cost price for the publicans.

Total Cost – £6,189

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Peter and Carla – Coronation Street – 4th December 2013

Surprising that Peter Barlow would have such a big budget for his 5th attempt at a wedding, but as Carla was the boss at Underworld, she was perhaps not short of a bob or two, so it seems they pulled out all the stops.

The wedding was set in a country manor hotel, not too dissimilar from Mottram Hall, which is a 40 minute drive out of Manchester. Based on the 2017 prices for Mottram Hall, the venue, food and drink, and evening DJ would have come to around £7,100. Judging by how sozzled everyone got, especially the bride, we think they laid on a generous drinks package.

Carla would have saved on the wedding dress though, as this was handmade by Hayley. We therefore budgeted £580 for the bride’s outfit, including the veil and shoes; and the hair and beauty would have come in at around £450 for Carla and one bridesmaid, including the trial.

Total Cost £13,118

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Debbie and Pete – Emmerdale – 4th August 2015

This explosive wedding ended in death, destruction and carnage; not exactly what you want from your special day, but this is soap land.

What they saved on having a wedding in their local church and village hall, they definitely spent on decorations and extras. There were a series of extravagant floral archways down the aisle for the bride to walk through, more flowers outside, large vases of flowers on the tables in the village hall, voile curtains and sparkling lights covering the whole of the village hall, balloons and more. There was even a vintage funfair outside that Pete had booked for the wedding, although this belonged to Rodney’s friend who happened to be conveniently passing through the village at that time, so may not have eaten into their budget too much.

Debbie’s dress was Boho style, very similar to a popular 2015 wedding dress style by French designer Delphine Manivet. We think she had it handmade in that style, costing around £720. In actual fact, the dress was made six times for the show as it kept getting filthy – but we have only budgeted for one.

Another expense was the helicopter that Pete had booked as a surprise to whisk his wife away at the end of the ceremony – the one that actually ended up crashing into and destroying the village hall. This would have cost him around £888, and we doubt he will have got his deposit back. Let’s hope they had insurance.

Total Cost £12,221

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Steve and Michelle – Coronation Street – 26th May 2015

Steve and Michelle were married the day after Spring bank holiday back in 2015.

The pair had money worries, which is probably why the Rovers Return was decorated by the residents with empty beer bottles; the wedding car was a taxi; it looked like Steve could have worn his own suit; and they were married in the registry office.

The shoestring budget didn’t stop Michelle looking amazing in her “could have been second hand” wedding dress. Of course, it wasn’t, but assuming she did manage to snap it up for a bargain on Ebay, she could have got it for under £500, and the seamstresses at Underworld could have adapted it for free to make it the perfect fit.

The couple missed their own reception and hopped straight on a plane to Spain for their surprise honeymoon which was a gift from Liz. Luckily, this means they missed the huge fire that ensued in Weatherfield following their cheap and cheerful event.

Total Cost £3,720

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Mick and Linda – Eastenders – 1st January 2016

Linda Carter loves extravagance. Just take a look at her huge, sapphire engagement ring, and outrageous pink flamingo wallpaper. Her wedding was always going to be a lavish affair.

Mick said he was going to find £20,000 for their wedding, which is around the UK average, and allows for something pretty special.

They got married in a lakeside hotel, although it looked more like a stately home. The closest venue we could find was Kenwood in Hamstead Heath, a splendid 18th century house. It is not quite lakeside, but does have a few large ponds in the grounds, which would be adequate for a wedding day drowning; and it is only a 35 minute drive from Fassett Square in Hackney, the place that Albert Square is roughly based on. The hire price for such a venue would have been £8940.

For the entertainment, flowers, hair and beauty, photography, and transport, the couple would have paid a premium as the event took place on New Year’s Day. In total, we calculate these to have been around £2,850.

Mick broke with tradition, and bought the dress for his wife, giving her it as a gift for Christmas. The dress was a Debut by Debenhams Vintage tulle dress, and we reckon the real reason Mick risked this bit of bad luck was so that he could keep the wedding costs down a bit. However, this is no doubt why he ended up in the lake; and although he survived, his wedding suit didn’t, so he had to get married in Linda’s short pink dressing gown and fluffy flamingo slippers. In total, we estimate the bride and groom attire to have been £1,060, excluding the groom’s improvised ceremony outfit.

They would have saved a bit on decorations though, as the hotel will have been already decorated for Christmas.

Total Cost £19,644

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Nick and Carla – Coronation Street – Sunday 22nd May 2016

After a string of unsuccessful marriages and marriage attempts, you would have thought that Carla Connor would have avoided another wedding like the plague, but instead she was back for more nuptial action with bistro owner, Nick Tilsley. The bistro not only served as the wedding venue for this big event, but had curiously also been the venue for Carla’s engagement party when she was due to be married to rapist, Frank, five years earlier. Surely she would have been able to predict the unhappy ending that lay ahead?

But alas, on they ploughed with the doomed event. As Nick had only recently sold the bistro (to the man that Carla had an affair with – as it happens), perhaps they managed to wangle it for free as part of the deal, and would have only have had to pay for the registrar to attend the event, plus other admin fees, and staff wages. With a three course meal and drinks at the bistro for around 40 people also included, we estimate the ceremony and reception to have cost around £3,780 in total.

The decorations for the event were elegant, and professionally done. We think they hired in the professionals to transform the bistro into a modern, romantic wedding venue; with floral bouquets, table runners, chair ribbons, satin curtains and fairy lights. They got the full works. For flowers and decorations, therefore, we estimate a rather large £1,650 of their budget would have been absorbed.

Carla’s wedding dress was fairly similar to the one she wore for her wedding with Peter Barlow – perhaps she adapted it? No, it was surely a brand new wedding dress for the event, and although Nick’s suit looked just the ones he wears every day, we believe he hired it. In total then, with two bridesmaid outfits, the cost for attire for the day would have been £2,140.

So by our calculations, the wedding was relatively inexpensive. Good job really, as the cake wasn’t the only thing in tiers by the end of the day. Actually, that joke doesn’t work written down!

Total Cost £9,520

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Tony & Cindy and Doug & Ste – Hollyoaks – 12th November 2012 

 

Another day, another soap wedding ending in horror and carnage.

This time it was the double wedding held at Knowsley Hall for Hollyoaks couples Tony & Cindy and Doug & Ste. A double wedding is a great way to keep the costs down, although… who does that in real life? Still, it’s always an option.

The wedding venue was the stunning Knowsley Hall in Cheshire. Technically, the prices we have budgeted for allow the wedding party to hold the ceremony and reception in the hall, whereas this wedding took place in the non-existent orangery, but we chose to overlook that for the sake of the show, and assume they had run of the hall too. The price of £8,000 therefore includes the wedding breakfast, canapes and drinks for 50 people, master of ceremonies, bridal suite, exclusive use of the hall and near enough everything else they need for the big day.

Total: £14,710 – or £7,355 per couple

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So that’s it folks. Please note that the costs were based on present day prices, regardless of when the wedding took place. Also, honeymoon prices were not included.