Tax benefits

Each line on the circular chart and each bar on the bar chart represents a year from 1947 and 2013. The shape of the line shows how popular each month is to marry in, while the bar represents the total number of weddings.

From 1950 to 1969, men were entitled to tax benefits if they married at any point during that tax year. This led to high numbers of marriages in March compared to all other months. In 1968 the law was changed, so that couples had to marry before May to get the full allowance, after which a twelfth was subtracted for each month the couple was not married. In May 1969, there was a 97% increase in marriages compared to May 1968.

Marriages during the summer months have always been popular. However, since the 1980s the percentage of marriages taking place in the summer has increased.

Scroll down to explore.