Our marriage rate is at its lowest point for 100 years and, if projections by the Australian Bureau of Statistics are right, the present slump heralds a new trend. When you listen to young people talking about their parents' stressful marriages and messy divorces, and discussing their own aspirations, it's clear the statistics reflect a rethink about the whole idea of marriage. This doesn't mean that Australians are falling out of love, or that they've lost the urge to cohabit. The rising generation's strongest commitment is to the idea of postponed commitment and they've made quite an art form of keeping their options open, hanging loose, waiting to see what might happen next. Although some ABS estimates suggest that as many as 40 per cent of us may never marry, that still leaves a majority who probably will.
Marriage is still popular.
Those who take the plunge enjoy it so much they're increasingly inclined to do it more than once. In 1998, one-third of all marriages were second or subsequent marriages for at least one of the parties. As the rate of marriage declines, we're investing correspondingly more money and effort in nuptial celebrations. Full-scale white weddings are back with a vengeance, even if the symbolism has undergone a radical shift since white was first adopted as the bridal colour. Pre-nuptial agreements are no longer regarded as weird.