I MUST have attended around a dozen weddings over the past few years – each one a wonderful occasion held in a fabulous venue.

Tetbury in Gloucestershire was where my latest invite was for.

It was described as a ‘stunning Cotswold wedding village’ – and so it was.

The service was held in the Grade II listed, 16th century stone barn, which was then replaced by tables for the wedding reception which then folded away to make way for the live band and dance floor in the evening. What struck me while we all sat patiently waiting for the bride to arrive, was that of all the weddings I have attended, only one was held in a place of worship.

I can’t even call that venue a church as it was actually Bristol Cathedral, and the guests were acutely aware of what a privilege it was to be able to get married there.

The other venues have been an array of hotels, country houses and marquees.

When the assistant registrar at Saturday’s nuptials entertained us with tales of what was ‘law’ and what was ‘tradition’ – I couldn’t help feeling that church weddings are a tradition we’re very much losing. Indeed, the latest figures by the Office of National Statistics states that two-thirds of all marriages in England and Wales are now civil ceremonies.

I remember there being quite a hoo-hah when Princess Diana got married in 1981 because she refused to ‘honour and obey’ her husband.

These days the vows are unrecognisable as they are very personal to each couple and contain none of the ‘til death do us part’ or ‘in sickness and in health’.

And pop songs are also the order of the day – a wedding I attended last year was like an acoustic Coldplay concert.

My partner actually whispered to me on Saturday: “Are we going to sing a hymn?”

Erm... I don’t think they’re allowed at a civil event!

Discreetly doing some research during champagne and canapés on the lawn outside later, I gauged from my fellow guests that the reason seems to be because a) people don’t go to church so it’s not their natural choice as a venue and b) they have no desire to get married in their home town anyway.

I don’t know what the cost of this sea change is for the church – in terms of wedding revenue and long-term congregation numbers – and whether it can be reversed.

But it would be a shame if church weddings died out completely.

In the meantime, there are a whole host of ‘civil’ venues queuing up to give a bride and groom the wedding of their dreams!

 

Bah humbug!

1.54pm, Monday, August 12.

The exact time and day when I received my first email about Christmas.

‘Spoil your man this Christmas’ the press release screamed.

And the culprit?

‘Gift ideas from... Tesco’ From moustache mugs to Marvel alarm clocks.

Shame on you Tesco!

Some of us haven’t even had our summer holiday yet.