How many couples have said "I do" since equal marriage was introduced?

Over 15,000 same-sex couples tied the knot in England and Wales in the first 15 months after same-sex marriage became legal, official figures have shown.

The figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the number of couples who either married or converted a civil partnership between the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act coming into force in England and Wales on 29th March 2014 and June this year.

There were 7,366 ceremonies between couples who were not already in a civil partnership, 55% of which were between female couples and 45% between male couples.

In addition, a further 7,732 couples have converted an existing civil partnership into a marriage since December 2014 – when the mechanism was introduced – and June this year.

The average marriage age for same-sex couples was 40 years old for men compared with 37 years old for women, while the figures also showed that fewer same-sex couples are entering into civil partnerships since marriage was made available to them.

The ONS also revealed that the monthly rate of same-sex marriages peaked in August last year, at 844.

“Historically the most popular time for marriages to take place is during the summer months, with ceremonies being less popular in winter,” the ONS said. “Marriages of same-sex couples are following this seasonal pattern.”

So to all the newlyweds, recent first anniversary celebrators and those with the date still set – congratulations!

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How many couples have said “I do” since equal marriage was introduced?

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