This Is How Long the Average Couple Dates Before Getting Married

It's no secret that marriage traditions are changing. People are getting married later in life, spending more money on weddings, and, according to a new study, they're spending more time getting to know each other before tying the knot.

Apparently, most couples are dating for much longer than they used to before walking down the aisle, according to a new 4,000-person survey from the wedding planning app and website Bridebook. In fact, the average bride and groom in the UK date for 4.9 years before getting married.

For the modern couple, here's the breakdown of that half-decade: 17 months of dating before moving in together, 22 months of living together before getting engaged, and 20 months of engagement before getting married.

People are marrying later in life, too, a fact that may come as no surprise. Today's bride and groom are eight years older than the average couple who got married in 1971. Just 46 years ago, brides were around 22.6 years old, and now they're 30.8. For grooms, they used to be around 24.6 years old, and now they are 32.7 years old.

Over the last 50 years, the number of overall weddings has steadily declined, but that's changing now as well. The number of ceremonies taking place each year is rising by 2.7 percent. The newlyweds surveyed overwhelmingly said they would recommend getting married, and that marriage has made their relationship stronger. More than 90 percent of participants said they felt less pressure to get married than their parents' generation.

Divorce rates will likely decline for the foreseeable future, too. "Marriages are becoming stronger than ever, relationships happier and more committed than ever, and couples more independent and consensual in their decisions than ever," Bridebook founder Hamish Shephard said. Now that's something to celebrate!

(h/t Refinery 29)

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