Wedding cost 'has dropped slightly'

Wednesday, March 17th 2010

Weddings can be very expensive affairs, but new research suggests that the cost could be dropping slightly.

The event director for the National Wedding Show explained that the average spend is now about £19,000, which is down from the £20,000 spent one year ago.

"There are certain elements – the dresses, things like that which they wouldn't cut back on," Ashley Roberts claimed.

But cakes and flowers are areas where money can sometimes be saved, it was added.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that there has been a long-term decline in marriages over recent decades.

Between 2002 and 2004 marriages increased, but there has been a drop in recent years.

In 2008 there were 232,990 marriages registered in England and Wales, which is the lowest level since 1895.

The average age at which a man gets married has risen by almost five-and-a-half years and was at 36.5 years in 2008.

Women get married at an average age of 33.8 years old, according to the ONS figures.