London - The traditional white wedding is dying out with fewer than a third of ceremonies being held in a church, research has revealed.
In the 1980s, more than half of newlyweds exchanged vows at the altar.
The decline of church weddings has been linked to the rise in cohabitation, a fall in religious belief and the popularity of weddings in other venues.
Four in five couples who marry have lived together first, Oxford University academic John Haskey found. They include almost all divorcees who are remarrying.
More than half of brides and grooms opt for a civil service in an “approved premises” outside churches and register offices, which has been allowed since 1994. Venues include stately homes, hotels, leisure centres and even hospitality suites at football grounds.
Mr Haskey said the decline in church weddings started in the 1970s. Since then, there have been “large changes in sexual and partnership behaviour” with big rises in divorce, co-habitation, pre-marital cohabitation and births outside marriage.
Official figures suggest there are almost three million British couples living together. Those who do not marry are three or four times more likely to split up than those who do tie the knot.
Haskey, a former head of the family division of the Office for National Statistics, compared marriage figures for 2007 with the number of couples living at the same address before their wedding.
The breakdown showed that two-thirds of couples marrying in church were living together. The likelihood was less among minority faiths.
There was a clear link between cohabitation and getting married in an approved premises. Previously, couples wanting a civil service could only go to a local register office.
Haskey said the change gave them the chance “for a big splash at a prestigious location” with no religious link and a setting allowing a large gathering. His research is part of a survey of marriage to be issued next month by Hart Publishing.
Daily Mail