End of the white wedding... just 1 in 5 marry in church

THE number of church weddings fell to its lowest level in nearly 130 years – even before the huge hit on services caused by the pandemic.

Latest official figures for marriages at all venues show there were just 227,870 opposite sex ceremonies in England and Wales in 2018 – half the number in 1972 and the lowest since 1894, when the population was far smaller.

Same-sex marriages also fell – to 6,925, from a peak of 7,019 in 2016, the Office for National Statistics found. A white wedding has increasingly become the preserve of the wealthy, the figures show. Around three infour professionals are married, but only a third of workers inroutine jobs.

Religious weddings fell by more than 11 per cent to 48,118 – 35,536 of them in the Church of England – a third of the number in 1990, meaning only one marriage in five was solemnised.

Church ceremonies have fallen in popularity since 1995, when weddings in premises such as hotels, stately homes and football grounds were allowed. Couples are older when they marry, with the typical age for a woman to enter her first marriage now 30. The number of women in their 60s getting married has more than doubled in 20 years.

The pandemic has seen a near halt in weddings in the past 18 months and family campaigners called for government action to boost marriage, particularly among those on lower incomes.

They said the decline was a ‘national scandal’, especially as evidence shows that married couples have more stable relationships and are healthier and better off. However, Harry Benson, research director of the Marriage Foundation, said: ‘This decline needs to be set in context.

‘The divorce rate is at its lowest level in 30 years, suggesting those who get married are much more likely to stick together.’