Wedding Feature
Blossoms and Bows
Retailers will soon be
expanding their fixtures
as the wedding season
looms. GT looks at the
latest trends and designs
available.
WedWeddidingng Sells
ecession or no recession, try been more civil ceremonies in England and which is being increasingly accommodated by
R
telling any bride her wedding Wales than religious ceremonies. In 2006, civil retailers reacting to demand for greetings cards
is off this year because of the ceremonies accounted for 66 per cent of all that embrace and celebrate same sex marriage.
credit crunch - it’s not going to weddings, an increase from 59 per cent in 1996 A quick tour round WH Smith for instance sees
happen! (www.statistics.gov.uk). a strong showing for the ‘Mr & Mr’ or ‘Mrs &
Statistics may show that The there’s the rise of the civil partnership, Mrs’ approach to cards for civil partnerships.
the numbers of weddings may be declining but
there’s still plenty of activity in the matrimonial
card sector as well wishers use greetings cards
to send their messages of congratulations.
Key trends
Marriage is not as straightforward as it
Weddings and anniversary cards are something people are unlikely to scrimp on, even in the
used to be. The days of ‘til death do us part’
teeth of a recession. If anything well-wishers may actually trade up as they seek to make their
are behind us and these days the lucky couple
card choices an intrinsic part of their overall gift.
might not be on their first wedding or may be
Handmade is an obvious winner here and publishers like Five Dollar Shake, Cavania and
trying something different. Of course there will
Blue Eyed Sun are all poised to take advantage of this trend.
always be traditional church affairs, particularly

for first-timers who want the dream wedding.
Social trends
But increasingly more and more couples are
In 2006, there were 275,140 weddings in the UK, a fall of 4 per cent since 2005. (www.
rejecting the church and using a registry office
statistics.gov.uk)
or going it alone and organising their own style
of civil ceremony. In fact, since 1992, there have
Regent
Marriages in England and Wales fell by 4 per cent in 2006 to 236,980, which is the lowest
number of marriages since 1895. (www.guardian.co.uk)
In England and Wales, the number of unmarried adults rose in 2006, but the number who
chose to marry fell, producing the lowest marriage rates on record
Since 1992, there have been more civil ceremonies in England and Wales than religious
ceremonies. In 2006, civil ceremonies accounted for 66 per cent of all ceremonies, an
increase from 59 per cent in 1996 (www.statisitcs.gov.uk)
In fact, civil ceremonies now account for around two-thirds of Weddings that take place
each year in the UK (www.weddingsday.co.uk)
The average age of marriage in 2004 was 31.4 for males and 29.1 years for females
(.statistics.gov.uk)
The Church of England attributed the fall in marriages to a “continued trend of couples
delaying marriage or avoiding it altogether, not least the mistaken idea that cohabitation is a
form of marriage” (www.guardian.co.uk)
Gay weddings are on the increase with greater numbers of same-sex couples saying “I do”
(www.independent.co.uk)
Roughly one in 10 British marriages is now celebrated abroad (www.independent.co.uk)
36 Greetings Today
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