Chapter 50
50
Since starting the business, Daisy had been careful with money in ways she had never been before. She always knew how much was in each account and what date all her regular bills came out. She paid her credit card off in full each month and assuming there were no sudden unexpected expenses with the boat, she was confident she could put aside a couple of hundred pounds a month towards the wedding fund, but as she opened up her first venue and clicked on their prices, it didn’t look like that type of money was going to go far.
‘That can’t be right. This place says it charges six grand to hire. And that’s without food or music or even chairs and tables,’ Daisy said.
‘Well, they say weddings are expensive,’ Theo replied. While it wasn’t the most helpful comment, it did set Daisy’s mind on a more practical line of thinking than just searching randomly for wedding venues and seeing what came up.
‘How much do people normally spend on a wedding?’ she said.
‘I don’t know, about ten grand?’ he replied.
‘Ten grand?’
Daisy’s eyes widened. A couple of hundred quid a month definitely wasn’t going to cut that. Did people really have ten grand lying around to spend on a wedding? Sure, she could understand how those in flamboyant marquees or country houses with five-course, sit-down dinners cost that, but she didn’t need anything that elaborate. Just a nice venue to have some photos done and a place to dance away the night.
‘I’m going to Google it. I want to see how much the average person spends,’ she said, convinced that Theo’s answer was way off the mark.
Yet Daisy had barely hit enter on the question when her stomach dropped out beneath her. ‘Twenty-five grand,’ she said. ‘The average UK wedding costs twenty-five grand. That’s ridiculous. I’d rather not get married than spend that amount of money.’
She had made the remark flippantly. In fact, she hadn’t even really thought about it, but when she glanced over at Theo, she noticed the way his face had pinched.
‘I guess it’s just the little things that add up,’ he said. ‘Venues, save-the-date cards, bridesmaid dresses.’
‘But I don’t want any of that stuff,’ Daisy said. ‘I just want you and me at the wedding.’
‘I don’t think it’s going to be quite that simple.’
‘Why not?’
‘Well, to start with, there are people we will have to invite. Go through your list.’
‘My list?’ Daisy said. ‘You already know it: Bex, Claire, Ian and Amelia, and a plus-one for Bex if she’s dating someone, then Mum and Nicholas.’
Those eyes widened. ‘That can’t be your entire guest list,’ he said. ‘There must be other people you want to invite. Yvonne, to start with.’
‘Fine, yes, you’re right. Maybe there are a couple of people on the lock, but that’s it. Why, who were you planning on inviting? I guess we’ll have to invite your parents and just wait and see if they come.’
At this, Theo’s brow furrowed. ‘Well, my cousins all invited me to their weddings, so I suspect they’ll expect an invitation. Aunts and uncles, my godparents, my parents’ close friends too. You know, I’ve always called quite a few people uncle and aunt, even if they’re not blood relatives. I’m sure they’ll be disappointed if they weren’t invited.’
Daisy wondered if Heather’s parents were included in that list, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, what she said was, ‘So you’re saying that this wedding is going to be 90 per cent a get-together of all your family with 10 per cent people I want there.’
She didn’t mean to sound churlish, particularly after the lovely day they’d had, but there was no way she was going to spend twenty grand on that. She could feel the tension brewing in the air, and knew she needed to break it before it settled. Thankfully, Theo got there first.
‘Do you know what? You’re right, it’s completely fine. We’ll do whatever we are both comfortable with. And we’ll set a budget that you’re happy with. Not that we need to worry that much; I’ve got a fair bit saved up.’
Daisy felt her head tilt to the side. ‘How much is a “fair bit”?’ she said, not sure why the comment had twisted her emotions so much.
‘You know, just a bit.’
Daisy didn’t know. Before September Rose , she hadn’t had much in the way of real savings or equity, and even though she had the business, and a small excess if it was needed, she still worried.
‘Theo, how much is “a bit”?’ she repeated.
Theo’s eyes remained forward until he glanced at Daisy with a slight bite down on his lip.
‘A couple of hundred grand,’ he said.