We got married in April and the total was well under £2000 (not including rings, and my suit which my dad bought as a wedding present).
We didn't want anything massive and ridiculous though, so there were only about 30 guests, which is what makes the difference. We also didn't bother with sillinesses like bridesmaids, flowers etc. Which people often spend thousands on. Also, we made the cake ourselves, as she doesn't have gluten OR dairy and frankly, hers is the only good gluten and dairy free cake I've ever tasted, so there wasn't much option there.
The reception venue was amazing (almost all guests stayed over night) and the meal was perfect.
To be fair the price was brought down because she used her journalistic contacts and a bit of free publicity, e.g. Her hair and make-up were done at a massive discount.
Our original wedding being planned 6 years ago had far more planned guests and a gorgeous venue in the Lake District, and was still pricing up at under £10k. I have no idea how people manage to spend so much. That wedding was halted by the pitter patter of little, expensive, feet though
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This time we just wanted to be married, we've been waiting too long. We were going to just rock up to the registry office and do it but once family got wind of it, it snowballed a bit, and in the end was a "proper" wedding albeit with only close friends and family as guests. Anything bigger seemed a bit daft, as we've been living "as married" for 6 years and have two children...
Anyway, my thoughts on wedding costs are, spend as much as you're comfortable with SO LONG AS you have the income or savings to afford it, or someone else is paying. Far too often, young couples get themselves into tens of thousands of pounds of debt to pay for their wedding and it's just madness. Saddled with debt is no way to start out married life. Not for the sake of one day. If you're taking out loans or putting things on credit cards, then you're over-stretching, and in the end it just won't be worth it. 6 months down the line it'll cause nothing but stress and arguments.