It all depends on where in the country you're planning on having the wedding.
I got married last April in West Limerick. In total, including our honeymoon (2 weeks in top notch villa - part of hotel - in Sorrento) it cost €20,000. Now we decided early on that we wanted good food but obviously at the right price, so we researched the hotels in the area based on this. We didn't bother with favours, chair covers, OTT flowers, cars, etc. My Mom and I made the 2 tier cake and got a local woman to ice it. I kept the flowers simple, but the hotel were doing the table decor so I didn't bother with flowers for there. I got my dress near home and saved over 50% of the cost compared to Dublin/other city prices. We used family cars (right colour obviously
)! I made the invites, service booklets, table plans, and thank you cards - lots of work but satisfying and we got exactly what we wanted for a fraction of the cost (in total the materials cost €250 tops - with plenty of contingency). We found a band who also did the DJ. A family contact is a photographer and did ours for a reduced fee, videos were done by family members, turned out lovely, very personal. I bet most people will have contact with someone who can do something in relation to the wedding!
The wedding was in no way skimped on, people are still talking about it - and most importantly we enjoyed it.
Sit down with your fiance and decide what you two want for your wedding day. Decide what aspects you want to spend a little extra on and that will dictate where you will have to save on.
www.weddingsonline.ie and [broken link removed] are both very helpful with tips, recommendations, and general advice. There's lots of creativity out there and you'll be surprised how much you have within you at the end of the planning!
Enjoy it all, it's worth every minute, but don't lose sight of the marriage.