‘Loved the Wedding,Invite Me to the Marriage’: The Secularisation of Weddings in Contemporary Britain

This article explores the extent to which weddings have been secularised within contemporary Britain at both the societal/institutional (objective) and personal (subjective) levels. Firstly, I present an extremely brief historical sketch of the changing nature of weddings within Britain over the course of the last thousand years. I will also draw on statistical evidence to discuss the trends relating to weddings over the course of the last 160 years. Following on from this, I draw on interview data to explore the reasons why non-church attendees still opt for a religious marriage service. Finally, I conclude by relating both sets of material to the question of whether weddings may be seen as a site of secularisation within contemporary Britain and exploring the nature of this situation.