Paying for a Wedding in Belfast

Why Restaurant Weddings at AMPM & Chubby Cherub Lisburn Road Buck the Trend

The Price of “I Do” in 2025 Belfast

Weddings have always been emotional. In 2025, they’re financial gymnastics as well.

Across the UK, the average wedding now sits in the £21,000–£25,000 range, once you factor in venue, food, dress, flowers, photography and entertainment. In Northern Ireland the headline figure is lower – around £18,300 on average – but the pressure feels just as sharp when you combine it with the cost-of-living crisis, rising rents and mortgages, and the fact many couples are also trying to save for a home deposit.

It isn’t just couples feeling the squeeze. Guests are, too. Recent research shows it now costs a UK guest around £451 just to attend a wedding once you add travel, accommodation, outfits and gifts – almost a fifth of the average monthly salary. No wonder more people are quietly turning down invitations or trimming back their own plans.

Behind the glossy Instagram moments, a lot of modern wedding planning looks like this:

• Spreadsheets, not scrapbooks
• Sredit scores, not mood boards
• Trade-offs between house deposit vs. big day

For many Belfast couples, the question isn’t just “What kind of wedding do we want?” but “How do we make this feel special without losing our minds – or our savings?”

The Big Venue Problem

Traditional hotel and country house weddings still dominate, but they come with a familiar set of financial and emotional pressures:

• High minimum spends – many venues require large guest numbers or significant package spends to secure a Saturday.
• Package creep – every extra (chair covers, upgraded drinks, late-night food) seems to come with a “wedding tax”.
• One-size-fits-all – couples slot into set timings and standard menus that don’t always reflect how they actually like to eat, drink and celebrate.
• Guest list inflation – you invite 80 because the room “needs it”… then suddenly you’re feeding 120.

Layer on rising per-head venue packages, which now commonly sit around £84–£135 a guest in the UK, and it’s easy to see how budgets run away.

Against that backdrop, a quiet but powerful shift is happening: restaurant weddings and engagement celebrations.

1. Cost

You’re paying for a working restaurant – not a purpose-built, rarely-used ballroom. That often means:

• lower or more realistic minimum spends
• per-head costs that already include restaurant-quality food and service
• the option to choose smaller guest numbers without the guilt

2. Pressure

Restaurant spaces are built for atmosphere. You don’t need to spend thousands “making it look less like a conference room”. The vibe is included.

3. Experience

Chefs, bartenders and front-of-house teams do this every single service. That expertise translates directly into:

• Food that arrives hot and on time
• Drinks that feel generous and well-made
• A natural flow to the evening, not awkward gaps

Two Belfast venues, in particular, stand out in this space AMPM and Chubby Cherub Belfast

Why Chubby Cherub Lisburn Road is Perfect for Intimate Italian Weddings & Engagement Parties

If AMPM is your glamorous city-centre romantic, Chubby Cherub Lisburn Road is the warm, Italian soul of the group – all about neighbourhood charm, food sharing and relaxed celebration.

Key Features & Benefits

1. Romantic Italian setting on Lisburn Road

• Cosy, characterful dining room that feels like a little slice of Italy in Belfast.
• Ideal for couples who want something intimate and atmospheric rather than grand and formal.

2. Italian feasting, not fussy banqueting

• Guests remember the pasta, the sauces, the tiramisu – not the chair sashes.
• Shared antipasti, pasta courses and secondi create conversation and energy at the table.

3. Perfect for small weddings & engagement dinners

• Sweet spot for smaller guest lists where a hotel ballroom would feel empty.
• There’s huge emotional value in having a room full of your closest people, all within arm’s reach, rather than spreading 60 guests thinly across a giant suite.

4. Value without feeling “budget”

Because you’re paying for a high-quality restaurant rather than a large event estate:

• Your money goes into fresh ingredients, service and wine, not into heating and dressing a huge space
• Minimum spends and per-head prices can often be shaped to suit mid-week, off-peak or lunch celebrations

Couples can walk away knowing they’ve had:

• a proper Italian feast
• A buzzing room
• A bill that doesn’t derail their wider life plans

5. Ideal for multi-event journeys

Chubby Cherub Lisburn Road also works brilliantly as part of a wider wedding story:

• Engagement party or “we just said yes” dinner
• Pre-wedding family meet-up
• Day-two lunch the day after the wedding
• Anniversary dinners, bringing the story full circle

Being able to return, year after year, to the place where you celebrated your engagement or wedding dinner is something a once-in-a-lifetime venue can’t always offer.

Choosing a Wedding That Fits Real Life

The numbers are clear: weddings in the UK and Northern Ireland are more expensive than ever, and the financial pressure is real for both couples and guests.

The good news is that a meaningful, stylish Belfast wedding doesn’t have to look like a traditional hotel package. Restaurant venues like AMPM and Chubby Cherub Lisburn Road offer:

• More control over budget
• More authenticity in food and atmosphere
• More flexibility in guest numbers and format
• More chances to come back and relive it

For couples trying to balance “dream day” with “sensible life choices”, that combination is powerful.

If you’re planning a wedding or engagement celebration in Belfast and you’re feeling the weight of the usual numbers, it might be time to flip the script:

Instead of asking, “How do we afford a big wedding?” Ask, “Where will this feel like the best night of our lives?”

For a lot of modern couples, the honest answer looks a lot like a candlelit table at AMPM or a long Italian feast at Chubby Cherub Lisburn Road.