The number of Roman Catholic wedding ceremonies in Ireland continued to fall last year.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed the number of these ceremonies were down from 49.2% in 2018 to 45.1% in 2019.
The number of couples choosing Humanist and Spiritualist Union of Ireland ceremonies is increasing.
A Humanist ceremony was the choice of 1,813 opposite-sex couples and 100 same-sex couples last year, while 1,512 opposite-sex couples and 106 same-sex couples opted for a Spiritualist Union of Ireland ceremony.
Civil marriage ceremonies accounted for almost two-thirds (62.2%) of same-sex marriages, while almost one-third (30.6%) of opposite-sex couples chose a civil marriage ceremony.
However, the Roman Catholic ceremony was still the most popular choice among opposite-sex couples - with 8,863 couples opting for this.
Older couples
Brides and grooms are also getting older - the average age is now 34.8 years for brides and 36.8 years for grooms.
Although the average age of grooms in an opposite-sex marriage was at its highest to date at 36.8 years, the average age of men in a same-sex marriage was higher at 39.8 years.
The average age of brides in an opposite-sex marriage was 34.8 in 2019 - while the comparable age for women in a same-sex marriage was 39.3 years.
There were 20,313 marriages in Ireland in 2019, including 640 same-sex marriages.
Source: CSOThis is an unadjusted marriage rate of 4.1 per 1,000 population.
Friday was also the most popular day and August was the most popular month to wed.
The warmer months of June, July and August were the most popular for weddings, while the cooler months of January and February were the least popular.
Friday and Saturday continue to be the most popular days to ‘tie the knot’ for opposite-sex couples, while Friday was the most favoured day to wed for same-sex couples.
Sundays and Mondays remain the least popular days for all couples.
While there were 20,313 marriages registered last year, the CSO says there is likely to be an impact on the registration of marriages in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
