There’s a lot of talk about what the ‘average wedding’ is like nowadays – when we know, there’s really no such thing as an average wedding! As part of our Weddings Today report, we took a closer look at same sex weddings in 2019.
We polled over 6,600 wedding planning couples to find out about the average wedding in 2019, including same sex couples and here is what we discovered*.
Find out more about same sex weddings in 2019 here…
Same Sex Weddings in 2019
The Average Engaged Same Sex Couple in 2019
In the UK, the average same sex wedding planning couple doesn’t have children before planning their wedding, with 86% stating they were child-free whilst wedding planning.
The average woman planning a same-sex wedding or civil partnership in 2019 is 30 years old, whilst the average man is 35.
5% had a child together before tying the knot, and a further 5% had a child from a previous relationship.
44% of couples surveyed stated that their average income is between £25,000 to £49,999, whilst nearly a quarter (24%) earned between £50,000 and £74,999. 16% earned upwards of £75k. 60% of same sex couples pay for their wedding themselves, with no additional support from family members, and 89% of couples use savings to pay for the big day.
43% of couples had been together for between four and seven years, and 34% had been together for one to three years before marriage.
The Average Cost of a Same Sex Wedding
Same sex couples are spending on average £14,355.35 on their weddings, with £4,633.44 being spent on the venue and £3,245.65 spent on the honeymoon. Catering accounts of £2,509.55 of the total spend, and £903.95 is spent on both wedding rings.
You can read our guide to planning a wedding on a £15,000 budget here.
Meeting Their Partner
A fifth of same sex couples who are currently wedding planning met their partner whilst at work. This was the most popular place to meet a fiancé or fiancée, whilst dating apps were a close second, accounting for 17% of engaged same sex couples.
Plenty of Fish was the dating site with the highest success rate for same sex couples, whilst Bumble didn’t deliver any matrimony-worthy matches. 12% of couples hit it off in a pub or a club, and 11% got talking through social media.
Getting Engaged
Holidays were the most popular occasion for a same sex couple to get engaged – over a third of couples surveyed (34%) stated that they got engaged whilst on holiday.
13% had a birthday proposal, whilst 10% got engaged on New Year’s Eve. Christmas resulted in 8% of proposals, whilst anniversaries accounted for 7%. Valentine’s Day continues to leave couples cold, with just 2% of same sex couples getting engaged on that date. Browse the best wedding proposal ideas here.
Social Media and Same Sex Weddings
31% of excited couples updated their status to engaged within 24 hours of the proposal taking place, but nearly a quarter of couples (24%) didn’t change their status, and a further 11% don’t use Facebook at all.
A third of same sex couples actively included social media at their wedding, and a further 17% set up their own hashtag. 25% banned social media from the whole day, and 24% banned it from the ceremony, but allowed it at the reception.
25% of newlyweds updated their relationship status to married within 24 hours on Facebook, whilst 32% took a week to make it Facebook official.
Planning a Same Sex Wedding
We asked same sex couples how they planned their weddings. 54% of couples said they used websites, whilst 65% attended wedding fairs and bridal shows. A further 48% bought wedding magazines, but 71% relied on friends and family to help with planning the big day.
Of those that visited wedding shows, 37% booked a supplier there. 29% of suppliers were booked through wedding websites, and 19% were booked through magazines.
Pinterest is the most popular social media platform when it comes to wedding planning, with 68% of couples looking for ideas there, and Instagram is a close second with 60%.
37% of same sex couples spend seven to 12 months planning their wedding, and 25% spent 13 months to a year and a half planning their day.
Pre-Wedding Beauty Regimes
73% of same sex couples said they had teeth whitening treatments ahead of their wedding, and 38% invested in microblading or HD brows. 19% had Botox before their wedding. 65% of those surveyed stated that they actively lost weight for their wedding.
Find your perfect wedding perfume here.
The Wedding Venue
Hotel wedding venues and barn wedding venues were the most popular picks for same sex weddings in 2019 – they each got 16% of the vote. Country house wedding venues were a close second with 14% choosing one as their wedding venue.
Read more: The key questions to ask your wedding venue
Wedding Traditions
89% of couples planning same sex weddings in 2019 chose to spend the night before their wedding apart. 35% of couples followed the tradition of asking for the parents’ permission before proposing, and 62% had ‘something old, something new…’.
44% did a bouquet toss, but the tradition of being visited by a chimney sweep on your wedding day has fallen by the wayside – no same sex couples factored this into their 2019 wedding.
Nearly half of same sex couples (49%) wrote their own wedding vows, and a further 11% had help from either a professional or friends and family to write personal vows.
38% of couples surveyed revealed that they plan to take their partner’s name and drop their own upon marriage, whilst 35% are keeping their own last name. 21% plan to double barrel. Find out more about wedding traditions here.
The Honeymoon
The top three honeymoon destinations for same sex couples are as follows – America (12%), Italy (10%) and The Maldives (8%). The majority of couples spend seven to 10 days on honeymoon and set off straight after the wedding.
You can view the broader report on average weddings in 2019 here, which includes all kinds of couples as well as same sex weddings in 2019.
*Ratio of couples is 73% same sex female couples, 27% male same sex couples
