Catalina Espinosa
Research expert covering society, economy, and politics for Europe and the EU
Marriage and weddings in the UK - Statistics & Facts
Between 1991 and 2019 the marriage rate in England and Wales fell from 36 marriages per 1,000 people to 17.9, while for the UK as a whole, there were 96,627 fewer marriages taking place in 2019 than there were in 1991. At the same time there has been an increase in the age at which people marry. In 1973, for example, the average age at marriage for men marrying women was 28.8 years and 26.1 for women marrying men. By 2019, however, the average age for men marrying women stood at 38.4, and 36.1 for women. Another trend of recent years has been the rise of civil ceremonies at the expense of religious ceremonies. In 2022, 207,004 weddings in England and Wales were civil ceremonies, compared with around 41,915 religious ones.
Modern marriage trends
While there has been a general decline in the frequency of marriage in the United Kingdom, it is still an important institution, as well as a valuable industry. In 2022 there were over 24 million married people in England and Wales, while in Scotland in 2018, 47 percent of the population were either married or in a civil partnership. One of the most important developments with regard to marriage, in recent years has been the legalization to allow same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom. Prior to 2014 civil partnerships were the only way for same-sex couples to gain the same legal rights as married couples, before same-sex marriage was legalized in March of that year, with Scotland following in December. The last jurisdiction to legalize same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom was Northern Ireland, which did so in January 2020. After the legalization of same-sex marriage, the number of civil partnerships fell significantly. Since December 2019, however, opposite-sex couples have been able to register civil partnerships, leading to 2020 having 8,437 civil partnership formations, the highest since 2007.Wedding dates and costs
In terms of when weddings happened, the vast majority in England and Wales took place on a Saturday, with approximately 107,543 weddings taking place on this day. Fridays were the second most-popular day for weddings at 44,813, while Tuesdays were the least popular day of the week. August was the most popular month for weddings in 2022, with 33,676 weddings taking place in that month, with September, July and June also proving popular. During this year the most common date for a wedding was Saturday, July 30, with 3,500 weddings taking place on this date. In 2023 the average wedding cost was around 20,700 British pounds, compared with 18,400 in 2022. Wedding venues accounted for the most of this spending, but other costs were also significant, including engagement rings, estimated to cost an average of over 3,000 British pounds in London during 2017. Although places of worship were still a favored choice for wedding venues in 2019, the most common types were country or manor houses.
