The Office for National Statistics reports that, according to figures in 2007, marriage rates in England and Wales fell to the lowest level since records began in 1862.

For every 1,000 people, 10.6 married in 1997, while 8.6 did so in 2007.

The report stated, “There were 270,000 weddings in the UK in 2007, a fall of 2.7 percent since 2006. Marriages registered in England and Wales fell by 3.3 percent in 2007 to 231,450, which is the lowest number of marriages since 1895 (228,204). In Scotland, marriages decreased slightly from 29,898 in 2006 to 29,866 in 2007, while in Northern Ireland marriages increased 5 percent to 8,687. The long-term picture for UK weddings is one of decline from a peak of 480,285 marriages in 1972.”