Name: Weddings.
Age: The first record of a marriage ceremony between a woman and man (it tended to be in those days) dates from about 2350BC in Mesopotamia (roughly Iraq).
Since then it’s gone out of fashion, right? Slowly, and it varies depending on where in the world you’re looking, of course. But yes, nearly 90% of the world’s population now live in countries with falling marriage rates.
And the UK? This year, the Office for National Statistics reported that for the first time ever, less than half the adult population were married or in a civil partnership.
Why aren’t people getting hitched any more? In a survey by the Thriving Centre of Psychology, 84% of respondents said they didn’t feel it was necessary for a fulfilled and committed relationship.
Also weddings are quite pricey, no? Exactly. In the same survey 73% felt it was too expensive to get married in the current climate. Another survey, by Hitched.com, of British newlyweds, found the average cost of a wedding had increased to £20,700.
Bloody hell! Hitched.com also shows you how you can do it for £3,000.
What if you just want the certificate – no cake, photographer, doves, any of that? The average amount spent by couples at a register office is £1,342. But wait – help may be at hand.
Who from? Sir Iain Duncan Smith.
IDS will do it cash in hand, no questions asked? No, but a report by the Centre for Social Justice, the think tank he co-founded, has recommended that the government should contribute up to £550 for poorer couples in Britain, towards administrative, legal and booking fees.
Lovely. Traditional family values, typically Tory. It’s more about tackling loneliness. And it’s backed by the Labour MP Jon Cruddas, who said: “Decades of family breakdown have contributed to the rise of loneliness and isolation.”
Not being married doesn’t mean you’re lonely, does it? Not necessarily. But analysis has shown that married couples do feel more stable in their relationships. And loneliness is estimated to cost employers £2.5bn a year.
Ah, so that’s what this is really about, is it – saving money for the bosses? Not only that. Cruddas says: “Resolving loneliness requires an approach to government focused on nurturing human virtue, rather than one simply concerned with addressing material needs.”
Very Thought for the Day. And if there’s a bit of economic benefit, less strain on the old coffers, so much the better, eh? Yes, it’s less “for richer or poorer”, but still very much “till death do us part”.
Do say: “I do.”
Don’t say: “But only for the discount.”
