Guardian UK: Why Marriage Rates Have Plummeted

[marmar]

Job scares, divorce payoffs and that lavish do: why marriage rates have plummeted
• Weddings decline by a quarter since early 1990s
• Average groom is now aged 37 and bride 34


Helen Pidd and Riazat Butt
The Guardian, Friday 13 February 2009


Tax breaks for married couples have been all but abolished, divorce settlements are increasingly astronomical, and the average wedding costs a wallet-battering £20,000. So it is perhaps no surprise that fewer people are marrying than ever before in England and Wales, according to new government statistics.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that marriage rates are the lowest since records began, with the number of weddings in 2007 down by a quarter compared with 1991.

People are also waiting longer to marry, the average groom being now almost 37 years old and the bride nearly 34.

Perhaps understandably, given the empty pews in the country's churches each Sunday, far fewer weddings include a religious ceremony. The number of couples saying their vows before a god has halved since 1991, a figure one vicar suggested yesterday could be reversed if churches charged more for ceremonies and used the cash to spruce up "fusty old" churches to compete with luxury hotels.

Just 231,450 people got married in 2007 in England and Wales, a decrease of 3.3% on 2006, and a drop of 34% since 1981. With the exception of an increase between 2002 and 2004, this figure follows the declining long-term trend observed in recent decades and is the lowest annual number of marriages registered in England and Wales since 1895, when 228,204 people said "I do". ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/13/1

[SoCalDem]

1. Marriage does not HAVE to cost a lot.

The Marriage PAGEANT, is another story.

If two people want to be married, all they have to do is get a license, find a judge/magistrate (or do it at the courthouse)..then have a pot-luck party for all the friends and family.. Voilà ... instant cheap wedding..and perfectly legal:)..39 years ago

I don't think OUR wedding cost more than $200..including my dress...(bought it on sale for $75)
My maid-of-honor's Mom made the bridesmaid dresses..(fabric bought on sale)

we had a very small wedding at the presbyterian church after Sunday services (free flowers)..and had a mini reception immediately afterwards in the vestibule..coffee/punch/sheet-cake.. and we left ..

[Elwood P Dowd]

2. My sister and BIL spent $50,000 on the weddings for their two daughters.

They actually borrowed money for the second one. Big repukes, and they attend one of those big yuppy repuke churches. Their pastor makes something like $200,000 a year.

:crazy:

[SoCalDem]

3. Our oldest & his wife spent $30K on theirs (paid it themselves)

and our youngest & his wife spent about $35K on theirs ...and a $28K honeymoon..:eyes:...AFTER he spent $21K for her ring..

but they had the money and they paid for it themselves..except for the rehearsal dinner that we paid for ..for 43 people :scared:..

They took a 3 week honeymoon..a week in Florence Italy (where he went to college), then a 10 day Greek Isle cruise & 4 days in Croatia at the end of the trip..

Theysaved for it, and were engaged (not living together) for 8 years, and it was what they wanted..

[Captain Hilts]

4. Insanity. nt

[SoCalDem]

5. That's what WE thought..but it's their money

:)

[Captain Hilts]

6. What a great photograph of kitties...nt

[SoCalDem]

7. aren't those the sweetest faces...ever?

:)

[seabeyond]

10. $130 for us. there was no way i was gonna spend that kinda money on a wedding

to me, it is absurd.

[dorktv]

8. I just had to respond-

20,000 quid for a stupid wedding?

I charge $60 to perform one and $100 on the weekend, good lord who spends such silly sums on a wedding?

No wonder my friend Case is talking about marriage!

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. If they thought a wedding was 'stupid', they wouldn't bother at all

That's the point - people who don't think a marriage is necessary are saying 'why bother?' Those who think that a marriage is vital, and that it's therefore something to be celebrated, are the ones who are still getting married, and are the ones who spend (and would have spent) a lot on it.

Here's an industry breakdown of the 'typical' wedding costs: http://www.weddingsday.co.uk/planning_weddingcosts/

[pnwmom]

9. I don't believe those estimates of the "average" cost of a wedding these days.

I bet they're grossly inflated by the wedding industry, in order to encourage other couples to think that they need this.

But you can have a simple wedding, inside or outside of a church, for very little cost. The people who do that probably aren't even included in these figures.