Love or luxury: European wedding trends

Couples are spending less on weddings, and much less on luxury weddings. Lover or luxury? Love is all that matters. That's the results of an ING Pan-European study of more than 12,000 consumers who had married or entered into a civil partnership in the past five years.

The study found that 60% of respondents would rather spend money on a house than a luxury wedding or partnership celebration. The view was strongest in Spain (70%), Italy (68%), and the United Kingdom (67%).

Wedding trends showed that the costs ranged from EUR 5,000 (11%) to EUR 50,000 with family weddings averaging EUR 900. Almost half (49%) of respondents who married or had a civil partnership in the past five years said they got into debt to pay for their big day. The trend was true for people in 12 of the 13 countries surveyed. The only exception was Poland. The reasons are not quite clear, and thought to be temporary, as most were under 25 years of age with lower incomes.

To pay for the wedding, 45% of couples saved specifically for the occasion, 16% said their families paid for it, 15% borrowed money from a financial institution, and 9% borrowed money from their family. Females were more likely to have money gifted to them for the wedding, and males were more likely to borrow the money for the wedding.

Two-thirds of couples (66%) were satisfied with how much they spent, and 33% said they would have liked more money to spend on their wedding or civil partnership. However, there was a difference in countries, with only 7% of couples in the Netherlands saying they would have liked more money to 60% in Turkey.

Most couples (52%) said that family and friends had too much influence on the cost of they celebrations. This view varied between countries, with low percentages in the Netherlands, Germany, and Austria to high percentages in Spain, Italy, and Turkey.

For those attending weddings, 62% of people across Europe who were surveyed said that it costs too much to go to weddings.

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. That

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog