The Latest Australian Marriage Statistics

In 2013 there were 118,962 marriages registered in Australia. This number is down from the previous year record high of 123,244. The 3.5% decrease is expected after over a decade of steady growth since 2001. The number of marriages from here on is likely to plateau rather than decrease over the next few years. While marriages experienced a slight decline, the good news is that divorce rates also declined by 4.6%. 

In similar fashion to 2012 the age at which couples tie the knot has again marginally increased. The median age of males at marriage was 31.5 years while the median age of females at the time of marriage was 29.5 years. This represents an increase of 0.1 years since 2012. Since 1993, the age at which males and females marry has steadily increased. 

For the majority of brides and grooms this represented their first marriage with 81.3% of brides and 79.7% of grooms not married before. 16.3% were first marriages for one partner while 11.4% were remarriages for both partners. It is interesting that couples that lived together prior to marriage decreased in 2013 to 76.6%, down from 77.6% in 2012. 

A traditional church wedding ceremony isn’t the norm for most Australian couples. The proportion of marriage ceremonies performed by civil celebrants has again increased to 72.5%, up from 71.9% in 2012. Of the religious ceremonies that did take place 32.3% were Catholic and the second most common were Anglican at 15.7%. 

The statistics in the report reflect Australia’s multicultural society. In 2013, 55.1% of couples that married were both born in Australia. 31.6% were born in different countries and 13.2% were born in the same country overseas. 

Spring and autumn weddings again proved the most popular times to say ‘I do’. The most popular month to marry in 2013 was November with 14,592 marriages, followed very closely by March with 14,584 marriages. Winter weddings not so popular with July proving to be the least popular month boasting only 5,393 marriages. 

While couples may take longer to eventually walk down that aisle, weddings are certainly not going out of fashion. Weddings are adapting to modern society and marriage is reinventing itself to remain an integral social institution. 

The Modern Wedding brand, as well as a successful quarterly title includes a range of annual publications that focus on specific elements of the wedding planning process. Modern Wedding Cakes, Modern Wedding Flowers and Gowns magazine are just a few of these titles.  To find out more about Modern Wedding visit: http://www.modernwedding.com.au