In 2010, 277,740 people in the UK chose to get married. Of these, 68% were civil wedding ceremonies, and the number of ceremonies in approved premises such as hotels, stately homes and historic building was up by 12%. That's quite a lot of people choosing to get married, which probably explains why you need to book your civil wedding venue so far in advance!
For those planning a church wedding, you too a setting a trend! Figures from the Church of England show the number of church weddings rose by 4%, and religious ceremonies of all denominations and religions account for 32% of all weddings.
And civil partnerships are on the rise too, by 1.7% in 2010, with over 46,000 ceremonies performed since the Civil Partnership Act came into force in December 2005.
So, the message is clear; more people in the UK are choosing to get married, and we'll drink a toast to that!
*Figures release by ONS on 29/2/2012. Preparing stats obviously takes time!