We are a nation divided when it comes to our wedding day apparently, with big differences emerging depending on what part of the country we are from, particularly in religious ceremonies and the amount of money people are likely to spend…
These were the two main findings from planning website, hitched.co.uk‘s annual survey of newlyweds – 2014 saw its largest ever survey interviewing a huge 1,893 newly married couples.
While over two in five weddings from respondents from the North East were religious (45%), this fell to under a third for those from the East Midlands (30%), and not much more for South West newlyweds with 31%.
The spend on the wedding day also varies greatly. For Londoners, the average cost of a wedding in 2014 was £17,332 – this is compared to the £9,907 average for newlyweds of the North West!
Newly married couples from the South West were also the most traditional when it comes to the wedding cake with 76% sticking with the traditional tiered cake. Meanwhile Londoners and the Welsh were the most experimental with 17% of each opting for cupcakes or a cake made of cheese.
In other findings:
- Patriotic North Eastern newlyweds were the most likely to honeymoon in the UK (32%), followed by the Welsh (26%) and then West Midlanders (24%)
- The Scots were least likely to take a honeymoon, with 14% not taking one at all, followed by the North West (11%)
- There were also big variations in paying for drinks. 37% of Londoners paid for all the drinks at the wedding, conversely under 1 in 10 of brides and grooms from the North East, North West and Scotland foot the bill
According to Caroline Hendry, editor of hitched.co.uk: “It is fascinating to get an insight into the big variations when it comes to the most important day of our lives. The big differences in the economies of the different parts of the country are really highlighted by the different costs, but also there are big variations in terms of religious ceremonies and to what extent traditions are observed. It shows the diversity of the country and the splits we have in terms of our behaviour.“
