Mintels report comes at a time when consumer confidence is tangibly lower than it was when the 2002 and 2004 editions were published. Weddings and honeymoons are nearly always expensive items in the household budget and often draw on savings or require heavy borrowing, and economic uncertainty does not bode well for this market, where any temptation to economise seems inappropriate for the couples big day.

Given this economic context, it is intriguing that a wedding or honeymoon taken abroad, rather than within the UK, can often appear as good value for money to those who choose such a trip. The cost of the ceremony, of catering and accommodation and other services (hire cars, photographers etc) can be much lower than in the UK, even with the cost of flights added on.

Apart from cost comparisons, there are also some interesting socio-cultural variables emerging. The traditional patterns of courtship and marriage are under siege, with both men and women likely to wait until they are well into their late 20s or even 30s before considering their first marriage, by which time they are usually settled in careers, their own homes and in the relationship itself and may even already have children. Furthermore, traditionalists must now come to terms with the arrival in 2005 of an entirely new market: the gay wedding/honeymoon segment.

• Introduction and Abbreviations
• Definitions
• Secondary research
• Consumer research
• Lifestage and Special Groups
• ACORN
• Abbreviations
• Summary of Key Report Findings
• Weddings abroad soar in popularity
• Consumers are equivocal on marrying abroad, definite about honeymooning
• Fewer weddings overall, but a higher share abroad
• Honeymoons more lucrative than weddings
• Average spend driven up by long-haul choice
• Short-haul market restricted by local laws
• Cyprus, the Caribbean and North America best developed destinations
• Major tour operators exert grip on WHA market
• Changing consumer bases for WHA
• A totally new market for 2006: gay partnership celebrations
• Potential for renewals and luxury marriages
• Improved outlook for Weddings market
• Market Factors
• The economy
  • Figure 1: Personal disposable income and consumer expenditure, 2000-10
• Population factors: age and gender
  • Figure 2: Age structure of the UK population, by gender, 2000-10
• Population factors: lifestage
  • Figure 3: The adult population, by lifestage, 2000-10
• Population factors: socio-economic groups
  • Figure 4: Forecast adult population trends, by socio-economic group, 2000-10
• Marriage trends
  • Figure 5: UK marriages and divorces, 1993-2003
• Marriage by age
  • Figure 6: Mean age for first marriages and remarriages in England and Wales, by gender, 1998-2004
  • Figure 7: Number of UK marriages, by age of female, 2000-05
• Civil unions
• Broader holiday market factors
  • Figure 8: Overseas holidays and expenditure, 2000-05
• International factors
  • Figure 9: Annual average exchange rate for Sterling against the US Dollar and the euro, 2000-05
• Market Size and Trends
  • Figure 10: Number of weddings in UK and abroad, 2000-05
• Expenditure on WHA
  • Figure 11: Estimated value of the weddings abroad market, 2000-05
• Honeymoon expenditure
• Market Segmentation
• Breakdown of WHA costs
  • Figure 12: Estimated breakdown of expenditure on weddings abroad, 2005
• The wedding/honeymoon package
• Variable destination costs
• Honeymoon destinations
  • Figure 13: Ideal destination for a honeymoon, 2005
• Renewal of vows
• Single-sex ceremonies
• The Supply Structure
• Tour operators
• Leading operators
  • Figure 14: Largest air tour operating groups by number of passengers authorised, 2005
• TUI UK/Thomson
• Thomas Cook Group
• First Choice Holidays
• MyTravel
• Cosmos
• Other tour operators
• Sandals
• SuperClubs
• Couples
• Luxury hotel groups
• Travel agents
• Destination countries
• The Caribbean
• Cyprus and Greece
• Indian Ocean
• North and Central America
• Other destination countries
• Distribution and Marketing
• Agent, Operator and Hotel Initiatives
• Magazines and exhibitions
• The Consumer
  • Figure 15: Personal circumstances regarding getting married, October 2005
• Major attitudes towards marriage by demographic analysis
  • Figure 16: Most popular personal circumstances regarding getting married, by demographic sub-group, October 2005
  • Figure 17: Most popular personal circumstances regarding getting married, by region and ACORN categories, October 2005
  • Figure 18: Most popular personal circumstances regarding getting married, by detailed lifestage groups, October 2005
  • Figure 19: Most popular personal circumstances regarding getting married, by daily and Sunday newspaper readership, supermarket preferred and commercial TV viewing, October 2005
• The Future
• Gay weddings and honeymoons
• Positive factors for the traditional market
• Big question: will France and Spain loosen up?
• Glamour and conspicuous spending...
• ...and celebrity influences
• Travel industry can do more
• Forecast
• A slow decline in the number of marriages
  • Figure 42: Estimated number of weddings in the UK and abroad, 2005-10
  • Figure 43: Forecast of the expenditure on the UK market for weddings and honeymoons abroad, 2005-10
• Factors used in the forecast