2022 Irish Marriage Trends: Insights on Ceremonies, Preferences, and Demographics
You read it here first! The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has released data on marriages in Ireland for the year 2022, which shows a 35% increase in the number of marriages compared to 2021. They found a total of 23,173 marriages were celebrated in 2022, which also exceeds the pre-pandemic figures of 2019 by 14%. Of the marriages celebrated in 2022, 618 were same-sex marriages, an increase of 24% from 2021. Let’s take a deep dive into the 2022 Ireland Wedding Trends.
Age Demographics of Marriage: Insights on the Average Age of Brides and Grooms
The average age of brides and grooms remained the same as in 2021, with brides averaging 35.4 years old and grooms averaging 37.4 years old. The average age of males in same-sex marriages was higher at 39.4 years, while the average age of females in same-sex marriages was 38.2 years.
Popular Wedding Ceremony Styles and Trends of Today
Religious ceremonies dominated the wedding landscape in 2022, accounting for 64% of all marriages. Among these, Catholic marriage ceremonies were the most popular, making up 40% (9,376) of all ceremonies. The Spiritualist Union of Ireland performed 2,299 (9.9%) ceremonies, while Church of Ireland ceremonies accounted for 1.2% (284) of all ceremonies. Other religious ceremonies were chosen by 13% (2,986) of couples. For those who preferred non-religious ceremonies, civil marriages were the most popular, making up 26% (6,071) of all marriages. Humanist ceremonies were chosen by 2,157 (9.3%) couples.
Roman Catholic marriage ceremonies were the most popular choice for opposite-sex couples, accounting for 42% or 9,376 of all ceremonies. Civil ceremonies were the second most popular choice for opposite-sex couples at 26% or 5,767 ceremonies. Humanist ceremonies accounted for 9% or 2,053 of all opposite-sex marriages and 17% or 104 of all same-sex marriages in 2022.
In 2022, civil ceremonies accounted for almost half (49%) of all same-sex marriages. The Humanist Association conducted 104 (17%) of these ceremonies, while the Spiritualist Union of Ireland and other religious denominations performed 99 (16%) and 111 (18%) services, respectively.
Top Choices for Wedding Dates: The Most Popular Months and Days for Getting Married
In 2022, July was the favoured month for both same-sex and opposite-sex marriages, accounting for nearly one in seven marriages. August was the most popular month in 2021 but saw a decline in popularity in 2022. The last three months of the year were also in demand for weddings, with between 19 and 23% of all marriages taking place during this period. In contrast, January was the least popular month for weddings, with only 2.4% (542) of opposite-sex marriages and 2.6% (16) of same-sex marriages occurring during this month.
Friday and Saturday were the most sought-after days for tying the knot in 2022, with nearly two-thirds (63%) of opposite-sex marriages taking place on these days. Sunday, on the other hand, was the least popular day, with only 3.8% (864) of marriages occurring on this day.
The most favoured date for opposite-sex marriages in 2022 was the 3rd of June, with 231 ceremonies taking place on this day. This was followed closely by the 29th of July, with 226 ceremonies occurring.
Friday the 26th of August was the most popular date for same-sex marriages in 2022, with 1.6% (10) of ceremonies taking place on this date. Thursday the 28th of July, Friday the 19th of August, and Friday the 2nd of September were all popular dates as well, each with 1.5% (9) of ceremonies occurring on these dates.
ANALYSING KEY TRENDS TO FURTHER YOUR VENUE’S SUCCESS
Key Findings:
- In 2022, there were 23,173 marriages, which represents a 35% increase from 2021. Of these, 618 were same-sex marriages. The total number of marriages in 2022 was 14% higher than the pre-pandemic figures of 2019.
- The average age for brides and grooms in 2022 remained the same as in 2021, with brides averaging 35.4 years and grooms averaging 37.4 years.
- For same-sex marriages in 2022, the average age for males was 39.4 years, and for females, it was 38.2 years.
- In 2022, Roman Catholic ceremonies were the most popular for opposite-sex couples, with 9,376 ceremonies taking place.
- Friday was the most popular day of the week for all couples to get married.
- July was the most popular month for all couples to tie the knot in 2022.
The data indicates a reflection of the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and the resulting impact on marriage numbers in 2022. While the number of opposite-sex marriages in religious ceremonies has been in decline since 2014, they still accounted for almost two-thirds of all opposite-sex marriages in 2022. This year’s report also provides valuable insights into the average age of brides and grooms in Ireland and the continued trend towards non-traditional wedding ceremonies.
These statistics have been compiled from the marriage registration forms of all marriages registered in the Republic of Ireland in 2022. For more detail on the data visit the Marriage 2022 section on the Central Statistics Office’s website. All data and images are from CSO Ireland.
We are currently working on our own in-depth statistical analysis of Ireland’s Wedding Trends and wedding industry data over the last number of years broken down by region, which will be exclusively available to our WedPro clients, so keep an eye out for that coming soon.
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