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 2019, 179,905 weddings were civil ceremonies, compared with around 39,945 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 2020 there were over 24.3 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 105,216 weddings taking place on this day. Fridays were the second most-popular day for weddings at 38,765, while Tuesdays were the least popular day of the week. August was the most popular month for weddings in 2019, with 34,951 weddings taking place in 2019, with September, July and June also proving popular. During this year the most common date for a wedding was Saturday, July 27, with 4,582 weddings taking place on this date. In 2009 the average wedding cost was around 20,000 British pounds, but by 2018 this figure had reached approximately 32,273 pounds. 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.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by D. Clark, Dec 20, 2023

Key insights

Annual number of marriages in the UK
253,112
Marriage rate in England and Wales
17.9
Number of divorces in the UK
112,182
Get more insights

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