Typical bride is now aged 30 as couples wait to wed
Add to My Stories The typical first-time bride is now 30-years-old when she walks down the aisle, official figures have revealed.
In a landmark shift, the age of the average bride is no longer in her 20s, as couples wait longer before marrying.National statistics also show that the number of marriages is at its lowest level since 1895.Women today are on average nearly eight years older than their mothers were when they married for the first time. In 1970 the typical first-time bride was 22. 
Anastasia de Waal, deputy director of the Civitas think-tank, said many women were putting off marriage till their 30s to develop their careers.
It seems your 20s are now about working and getting up the career ladder, pushing thinking about marriage and children into your 30s, she said.In the past, achieving adulthood for women was about setting yourself up for family life whereas now its about setting yourself up first.
The cost of the wedding could also be a factor in the delay, she said.
The latest figures show a total of 231,490 weddings took place in England and Wales in 2009 the fewest in a single year sin! ce 1895, when there were 228,204, but the population was much lower.The marriage rate the proportion of the single population who married was at its lowest level since records began in 1862.The Office for National Statistics said: Over the last three decades, marriage rates have fallen considerably. Men and women are delaying getting married, or not marrying at all.
The figures showed more than two-thirds of marriages were civil ceremonies. There were 155,860 civil ceremonies in 2009, or 67 per cent of the total.
There were 75,630 religious weddings, a fall of nearly 3,000 in a year. Religious ceremonies have declined by a quarter since 1999.
In a landmark shift, the age of the average bride is no longer in her 20s, as couples wait longer before marrying.National statistics also show that the number of marriages is at its lowest level since 1895.Women today are on average nearly eight years older than their mothers were when they married for the first time. In 1970 the typical first-time bride was 22.
Following trend: When Kate Middleton marries Prince William next month, she will be 29By 1991 she was 25, and by 2000 the average age rose to 28.
Men are also older before they tie the knot. The typical groom is now just past his 32nd birthday when he marries for the first time.Royal weddings reflect the age trend. When Kate Middleton marries Prince William next month, she will be 29.
He will be 28. By contrast, when Diana Spencer became the Princess of Wales she was just 20.
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Anastasia de Waal, deputy director of the Civitas think-tank, said many women were putting off marriage till their 30s to develop their careers.
It seems your 20s are now about working and getting up the career ladder, pushing thinking about marriage and children into your 30s, she said.In the past, achieving adulthood for women was about setting yourself up for family life whereas now its about setting yourself up first.
The cost of the wedding could also be a factor in the delay, she said.
The latest figures show a total of 231,490 weddings took place in England and Wales in 2009 the fewest in a single year sin! ce 1895, when there were 228,204, but the population was much lower.The marriage rate the proportion of the single population who married was at its lowest level since records began in 1862.The Office for National Statistics said: Over the last three decades, marriage rates have fallen considerably. Men and women are delaying getting married, or not marrying at all.
The figures showed more than two-thirds of marriages were civil ceremonies. There were 155,860 civil ceremonies in 2009, or 67 per cent of the total.
There were 75,630 religious weddings, a fall of nearly 3,000 in a year. Religious ceremonies have declined by a quarter since 1999.
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