You need people who have done it recently.
I would suggest being married outside the UK first, although there is an EU law about the right to marry that I know one person has used to get their Cuban fiance into the UK for their wedding before leaving.
We moved back in 2009, having been married 2 years, together for nearly 6, we had money in the bank, home to go to, so the hoop jumping was easy enough, but the money was considerably less compared to now.
They want to know she won’t be a burden on the state.
Don’t get an agent to do it for you, join expat forums and read through what they have to say, be prepared for some long waits.
You could do a ESOL exam in the past as well, may have cracked down on that, but it negated the life in the UK test.