Long engagements the norm as wedding costs rise
More and more couples are putting off their wedding after getting engaged because of the soaring cost of the big day itself.
Pic: Getty
While 10 years ago, the length of the average engagement was just 11 months, these days, couples wait up to three years before tying the knot, and the ever-increasing price of a wedding is partially to blame.
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The poll of 1,903 couples who were married within the last year and 1,872 people who married ten years ago, asked how much was spent on the engagement and wedding in total.
For those who walked down the aisle in the last 12 months, the price amounted to £19,700, including everything from the engagement party, through the stag and hen weekends, to the marriage itself and honeymoon.
Those were got hitched 10 years ago paid an average of £9,500 for their big day.
Some 74 per cent of the recently married newlyweds admitted they would have preferred a shorter engagement, the cost of the whole shebang meant they were forced to save up.
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George Charles from VoucherCodesPro, which conducted the survey, told the Daily Mail: "It is no secret that we are now waiting until later on in our lives to settle down and get married, but it seems that even that is becoming increasingly hard considering the average couple won't get much change from twenty grand nowadays for a wedding!"
Mr Charles added: "After analysing the findings, I can't help but wonder if, instead of a tradition focused on promising to devote your life to one person for eternity, a wedding is now considered to be a very expensive party or a popularity contest."
What do you think? Are modern weddings more about throwing an impressive party than traditional values? Leave your comments below...
