2009 is predicted to see a record low in Wedding Anniversaries. Statistics show a constant drop in wedding anniversaries since 1895 with fewer people celebrating an anniversary each year.
There were 270,000 wedding anniversaries in the UK in 2008, a fall of
2.7 per cent since 2007. Marriages registered in England and Wales fell by 3.3 per cent in 2007 to 231,450, which is the lowest number of marriages since 1895. With marriages decreasing and divorce rate rising there has been a significant reduction in early and late anniversaries. This paints an incredibly bleak picture for the UK.
1st wedding anniversaries have obviously been the most drastically hit year on year closely followed by the higher anniversaries as the number of couples making it to their 25th anniversary have fallen hugely.
Rebecca Philipson, Director of personalized wedding anniversary gift company, Inthepaper.co.uk, had this to say:
‘More and more people are opting for co-habiting and not getting married, this is the primary reason for the drop in wedding anniversaries year on year.
I do think it’s a shame that people aren’t getting married as much and of course this has had a knock on effect on gift companies all over.
We offer personalized wedding anniversary newspapers which are terrific gifts for anyone celebrating a wedding anniversary. They’ve always been hugely popular because they’re so personalized and include a wedding photo, couples really love them.
Obviously with the 1st wedding anniversary being a ‘Paper’ anniversary our personalized newspapers are particularly sought after for those. With fewer and fewer people celebrating their 1st wedding anniversary and most anniversaries in general we’ve seen a significant drop in these orders when comparing them to previous years and other occasions such as birthdays.
This has been somewhat balanced out but the huge increase in gay marriages which seem to be going from strength to strength.’
Researchers have predicted that the trend will continue and is even more likely to do so given the economic problems the UK is currently experiencing. One source explained:
‘People can’t afford to get married, if they have money they’re either saving it or spending it on what they perceive to be more practical things. Until we see an improved economy I think wedding anniversary stats will continue to drop.’
