New analysis by engagement ring expert, 77 Diamonds, reveals that in the years since the pandemic, the UK has enjoyed a wedding boom as increasing marriage numbers since 2020 have reversed years of steady decline. And a surge in engagement ring sales suggests that this renewed appetite for weddings is here to stay.
77 Diamonds has studied marriage data from the Office for National Statistics* and found that between 2012 and 2019, the number of annual UK marriages fell from 302,654 to 252,200. In fact, in the three years leading up to 2019, the number of marriages saw uninterrupted decline. Then, as the pandemic hit in 2020 and weddings were placed under tight social distancing restrictions, marriage numbers plummeted to little more than 100,000 over the course of the year.
However, it appears that the pandemic experience has reignited a passion for marriage because, since 2020, marriage rates have increased rapidly. 2021 saw marriages rise to a total of 239,094, and 2022 (latest data available) produced another increase to 284,382 – the highest mark since 2016.
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