Attitudes to marriage

Reading the statements in last week's paper from the 33 couplesentered in our Win a Wedding competition was revealing.

They illustrated just how our attitudes to living together,having children and marriage have changed.

When I was first wed 40 years ago we had been living together,despite deep disapproval from my parents, and decided to tie theknot because we believed you ought to be married before havingchildren.

We felt that children needed the security of their parents beinglegally married and they could face a stigma at school if theirparents were not.

Nowadays more and more couples have the children first and getround to marriage later. Any stigma has gone and the legality ofmarriage is seen as less important. Couples rely increasingly on thestrength of their relationship.

Eleven of the 33 couples in the competition have children and atleast four others are expecting before their big day.

Of course another reason why couples do not rush into marriage isthe enormous cost of most weddings.

It is possible to do it for less than Pounds 200 but most spendmore than Pounds 10,000.

So it is no surprise that our Pounds 12,000 wedding competitionsprove popular.

Last year's winners are getting married this October and we willsee which couple attracts most votes in 2011. Voting starts intoday's paper.

Philip Welch