... and I do agree that all women would love to have an all singing, all dancing wedding with strings and bows etc.
Can't let this pass. It's not true.
Would have to agree with Bronte on this one - we got married in a registry office and had only close family for a meal afterwards. The money we didn't use on the wedding was used as a deposit on our first house, which over the years has allowed us to become mortgage-free homeowners.
A friend of mine, whose husband and herself were on modest salaries, arranged a wedding abroad during the boom. They got married in Oz, flew 14 immediate family members to Oz and paid for hotel accommodation, meals, entertainment, etc.. Then because the rest of the 'clan' in Ireland had to be entertained as well, they held a blessing in Dublin and invited over 200 guests to the service and reception with dinner and dancing etc.
The 'do' cost them a small fortune, which they are still paying off
7 years later! They now have two children, live in local authority housing and the two extravagant weddings are all forgotten, save the monthly payments for the debt, which she now admits reminds her how very foolish she was. She would give anything to turn the clock back so she could have been able to have money for her children now.
Each to their own, but I'd be very reluctant to take on debt while unemployed to fund a wedding. Maybe OP could postpone until the employment situation improves?