Press Statement

Preasráiteas

10 April 2019

Brides and grooms getting older - average age reaching 34.4 years for brides and 36.4 years for grooms

Go to release: Marriages 2018

The CSO has today (10 April 2019) published Marriages 2018, with data compiled from the marriage registration forms of all marriages registered in Ireland in 2018.  Commenting on the report, Carol Anne Hennessy, Statistician said “There were 21,053 marriages in Ireland in 2018 including 664 same-sex marriages. This equates to a crude (unadjusted) marriage rate of 4.3 per 1,000 population. 

Although the average age of grooms in an opposite-sex marriage was at its highest to date at 36.4 years, the average age of men in a same-sex marriage was higher at 40.1 years.  The average age of brides in an opposite-sex marriage was 34.4 in 2018, while the comparable age for women in a same-sex marriage was 38.7 years.

Unsurprisingly, the warmer months of June, July and August were the most popular for weddings, while the cooler months of January and February were the least popular.

Friday and Saturday continue to be the most popular days to ‘tie the knot’ for opposite-sex couples, while Friday was the most favoured day to wed for same-sex couples. Sundays and Mondays remain the least popular days of the week to marry for all couples.

The number of couples choosing Humanist and Spiritualist Union of Ireland ceremonies is increasing. A Humanist ceremony was the choice of 1,766 opposite-sex couples and 121 same-sex couples in 2018, while 1,341 opposite-sex couples and 89 same-sex couples opted for a Spiritualist Union of Ireland ceremony.  

Civil marriage ceremonies accounted for almost two-thirds (62.8%) of same-sex marriages, while over a quarter (28.7%) of opposite-sex couples chose a civil marriage ceremony.

However, the Roman Catholic ceremony was still the most popular choice among opposite-sex couples, with 10,027 couples opting for this ceremony”.

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