You are in > manchester.com  > News > Marriage fairytale lives on

Retail

Marriage fairytale lives on

11/01/2006

The number of people getting married may be down, but according to a new study there is no let up in wedding spending

And this is particularly true for the wedding dress, with the market growing dramatically year-by-year.

In 2000, the average price of a traditional wedding dress stood at £625, but has since risen 32 percent to stand at £826, according to the latest Mintel figures.

The consumer research group also found that whilst 46 per cent of women said that "weddings have become too commercial and expensive", over half of these still said they would want the traditional white dress.

Claire Birks, senior market analyst at Mintel said the findings were a clear indication that romance rather than practicalities lay at the heart of wedding planning.

"The market for wedding dresses is more often than not led by emotion and aspiration rather than rational decisions and financial constraints," Ms Birks said.

"While there has been a general decline in the number of people choosing to get married, Britain's brides are clearly happy to splash out ever more cash on what for many will be the focal point of any fairytale wedding," she added.

Overall, Mintel estimates that the market for wedding dresses was worth £115 million in 2005, a rise of 17 per cent compared with sales in 2000.

© Adfero Ltd