There were 270,000 weddings in the UK in 2007, a fall of 2.7 per cent since 2006. Marriages registered in England and Wales fell by 3.3 per cent in 2007 to 231,450, which is the lowest number of marriages since 1895 (228,204). In Scotland, marriages decreased slightly from 29,898 in 2006 to 29,866 in 2007, while in Northern Ireland marriages increased 5 per cent to 8,687.The long-term picture for UK weddings is one of decline from a peak of 480,285 marriages in 1972.
In England and Wales, the number of unmarried adults rose in 2007, but the number who chose to marry fell, producing the lowest marriage rates since they were first calculated in 1862. In 2007, the marriage rate for men was 21.6 men marrying per 1,000 unmarried men aged 16 and over, down from 23.0 in 2006. The marriage rate for women in 2007 was 19.7 women marrying per 1,000 unmarried women aged 16 and over, down from 20.7 in 2006.
The number of marriages in England and Wales that were the first for both partners peaked in 1940 at 426,100 when 91 per cent of all marriages were the first for both partners. This number has since fallen to 143,440 in 2007, accounting for 62 per cent of all marriages.
Remarriages rose by about a third between 1971 and 1972, following the introduction of the Divorce Reform Act 1969 in England and Wales, and then levelled off. In 2007, 88,010 marriages were remarriages for one or both parties accounting for 38 per cent of all marriages.
Since 1992 there have been more civil ceremonies in England and Wales than religious ceremonies. In 2007, civil ceremonies accounted for 67 per cent of all ceremonies which is an increase from 61 per cent in 1997.
The Marriage Act 1836 and the Registration Act 1836 came into force in 1837 in England and Wales and provided the statutory basis for regulating and recording marriages. There were 118,000 marriages in 1838, the first full year of civil registration in England and Wales. Annual numbers of marriages rose steadily from the 1840s to the 1940s apart from peaks and troughs around the two world wars.
Source: Office for National Statistics; General Register Office for Scotland; Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
Notes: UK and England and Wales figures for 2007 are rounded and provisional.
UK and England and Wales 2006 Marriage figures are rounded. Unrounded England and Wales final figures will be published in FM2 No.34 in Spring 2009.
Final figures for marriages in 2006 will be published in the annual reference volume Marriage, divorce and adoption statistics 2006 (Series FM2 No.34) Final marriage figures are produced when returns have been received from register offices and clergy. In 2006 final figures increased by approximately 2,500 records during the period of eleven months, after the first release figures were published in February 2008.
The marriage figures relate only to marriages taking place in the constituent countries of the UK. They take no account of marriages of UK residents taking place abroad. Marriages of persons whose usual residence is outside of the UK, but whose marriage takes place in the UK may be included in the figures.
Measures included in the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc) Act 2004 were introduced on 1 February 2005 to prevent the possibility of 'sham marriages'. These measures required individuals who are non EEA nationals subject to immigration control to give notice of their marriage at one of 76 designated Register Offices. These restrictions do not apply to marriages by Registrar General's Licence or ecclesiastical preliminaries (banns or licence).
The Marriage (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 provided a greater choice of marriage venues and types of ceremony available and made the preliminaries to a marriage the same for everyone.
The Marriage (Scotland) Act 2002 allowed civil marriages to be solemnised at locations other than registration offices and authorised local councils to approve locations for marriage.
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Marriage Statistics 2007 (Provisional), selected data tables, England and Wales