As a result of the increasing number of people who are choosing to live out of wedlock, the number of marriages is now at its lowest level since records began. Weddings have become much more expensive to hold which, along with the failure of Government to promote and support the concept of marriage, are significant factors thought to be responsible for the decline.

The many high-profile divorce cases that have caused headlines in the news recently are believed to have reduced the stigma of being party to a failed marriage. Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics for the year 2007 in England and Wales showed that 21.6 out of every 1000 men got married, down from 23 the previous year. The rate for women was 19.7 per 1000, down from 20.7 in 2006.