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Wedding dream no longer reality
"I do" has turned in to "I don't" across the country as new figures reveal fewer people are walking down the aisle than ever before.
And Bradford is not bucking the trend as there were 140 fewer newlyweds in 2005, compared to 2004 - according to the Office for National Statistics.
It was once every girl's dream to have their special day, but it seems in Bradford the dream is not becoming a reality.
Only 1,511 people took the plunge in the city in 2005, compared to 1,652 in 2004.
Of the weddings in 2005, only 458 were religious ceremonies, including 241 Church of England weddings and 78 Roman Catholic weddings.
Provisional national figures for 2006 show the number of unmarried adults rose and the amount of people who chose to get hitched fell - producing the lowest marriage rates since they were first calculated in 1862.
In 2006, the marriage rate for men was 22.8 men per 1,000 - down from 24.9 in 2005.
The marriage rate for women in the same year was 20.5 per 1,000, down from 21.9 per cent in 2005.
The number of marriages overall fell by four per cent in 2006 compared with 2005 to 236,980.
With the exception of an increase between 2002 and 2004, this follows the declining long-term trend observed in recent decades and is the lowest annual number of marriages since 1895 when there were 228,204.
The latest figures also revealed the average age for men taking the plunge is 36.4, compared to 33.7 for women.
3:09am Thursday 27th March 2008
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CommentPosted by: last one turn off the light, Cyprus on 7:01am Thu 27 Mar 08
does a religious wedding constitute a Christian church wedding or does it include Indian and Pakistani weddings?
does a religious wedding constitute a Christian church wedding or does it include Indian and Pakistani weddings?
Posted by: Divers_uk, Bingley on 8:36am Thu 27 Mar 08
No, it just means it takes longer
No, it just means it takes longer
Posted by: Mr T, Bradford on 9:30am Thu 27 Mar 08
Propberbly beacuse of the Heather Mills scenario. Most people are scared of the consequences
Propberbly beacuse of the Heather Mills scenario. Most people are scared of the consequences
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