The average cost of a wedding now stands at about $27,000, according to the Wedding Planners Institute of Canada. (Shutterstock)

It's supposed to be one of the best days of your life, but for many young couples the dream wedding can translate into a long-term debt nightmare.

The Canadian wedding industry is a $4-billion-a-year business, with the average cost of a wedding now standing at about $27,000, according to the Wedding Planners Institute of Canada. That cost has been rising steadily at about 5% to 7% a year, apart from 2009 to 2010 when spending dipped after the recession.

There will be an estimated 156,920 weddings in Canada during 2011, with just over half occurring from July to September, according to website Weddingbells.ca.

Danielle Andrews Sunkel, president of the Wedding Planners Institute, said when it comes to a wedding, every vendor thinks their element of the day is the most important and is going to push their products.

"The place where I see them go over (budget) the most is on the décor, that's usually where the money goes," she said. "Couples are presented with fabulous designs and they often have no idea of how much they will cost."

In a recent survey, Weddingbells.ca found the top cost was usually the reception venue, with couples spending an average of just over $9,500.

Excluding the honeymoon, the second biggest expense was the bands and then the photographer.

Sun Media journalist William Wolfe-Wylie, who marries in six weeks, said he and his fiancée chose to spend more on things that would last forever, such as rings, and scrimp on others that would fade such as the cake and a dress.

When it came to a budget, they set a figure and worked backwards.

"We figured out what we were able to spend and then figured out the best way to spend that money," he said. "If we had figured out a budget to be twice what it is, we certainly could have figured out a way to spend it all.

"It was self-control that kept us on budget so we're not starting our married life mired in debt."

Many young couples choose to finance their big day using lines of credit, according to Scotiabank branch manager Kelly D'Amour. But the bank also finds itself dealing with the debt hangover for couples who have paid for everything with their credit cards.

"We are able to save them lots of interest" by converting the debt to credit lines, she said, adding that the bank's preference is to be pre-emptive and help clients save for the wedding before the event rather than untangle the debt afterwards.