Wedding season to hit peak this weekend
| Published: 14th August 2008 14:52 |
All over the nation, thousands of couples will be preparing to marry this week, and research has revealed that thousands will now be shunning Saturdays for Friday celebrations! The second weekend in August is officially "wedding week" and the most popular time of year to get hitched so let's hope for a sunny weekend!
Over the past five years Friday weddings have increased in popularity by 5%. This equates to around 12,000 extra couples marrying on Fridays every year. Over the same period Saturday weddings have decreased in popularity by the same amount, 5%.
August remains the most popular month to marry with 1 in 5 choosing this month for their celebration - that's around 50,000 couples. The month of January and Tuesdays are the least popular times to get married. Less than 2% of couples chose to marry at this time.
These statistics are drawn from weddings Ecclesiastical insures direct and through Marks & Spencer. Wedding insurance manager Darren Mabley-Jones said:
"The traditional Saturday wedding in August remains the most popular choice for couples planning to tie the knot. However, many couples are starting to turn to a Friday for their celebration instead, perhaps to ensure they get the venue they want, but also to save money on hire charges.
"With a recession looming finances will be stretched, so couples will be looking for any way to save a little money. Holding your wedding on a Friday doesn't make much of a difference to guests, extends the weekend's celebrations and can cut the budget substantially as well.
"But despite a rise in Friday weddings, British couples continue to place their faith in our summer by opting for an August wedding. Whether or not they get the sunshine they planned for however is another matter.
"Friday weddings all year round are set to grow in popularity. However, Tuesday weddings in January will continue to be very rare indeed!"
All survey data drawn from over 23,000 weddings Ecclesiastical has insured from 2002-2007.
237,000 marriages in 2006 according to the Office for National statistics, 5% of 237,000 = 12,000.
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