Are the words Will You Marry Me? Being replaced by Will You Live with Me? Apparently so, according to a recent study by the National Marriage Project, a nonpartisan research initiative based at the University of Virginia.
According to the study, the national marriage rate has decreased to nearly half of what it was in 1970. The national marriage rate has fallen from 76.5 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women 15 and older to 40.7 marriages in 2005, according to the group’s research.
Several cultural and economic factors are affecting couple’s decisions to cohabitate. Acceptance that living together is the normal standard and couples deciding to go “Dutch” in living expenses posts the difference in 1970’s numbers when 500,000 cohabitated; in 2007 that number was more than 6.4 million and rising.
The topic is being tackled by leading statistical sources but no matter how you slice and dice the numbers, there are more wedding planners than there are formal weddings. Findings by sources including The Wedding Report say couples are definitely waiting longer to make a nuptial commitment and if they do, weddings are no longer as elaborate and costly as they were.
Other factors like women’s desire to achieve a higher level of education and personal financial freedom also come into play, although with the recent downturn in the economy, those variables may be offset by the growing need to partner together for financial reasons.
eWedNews continues to investigate this story and the aligning factors bring brought about by the lingering recession. What are your opinions? Do you disagree there is an overabundance of wedding goods and services that are disproportionate to formal weddings taking place?
Please post your thoughts or contact Paul@ewednews.com (516) 312-0090
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2010
Posted on 03/29/2010
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