Summer (or something resembling summer, anyway) is almost here and that could only mean one thing – wedding season! If you’re single, that means attending one wedding after another, usually on your own. How do you feel about being a singleton in an event designed to celebrate someone else’s romantic love? This was one of the questions asked in the recent PARSHIP survey, and the results are now out, offering insights into UK singles’ attitudes towards things like marriage, being single and a few other related issues.
Over 500 people were questioned, most of which (60.3%) had been married before. The vast majority (59%) of those questioned said they still believed in the institution of marriage and 61% said they would like to marry or remarry. With so many people wishing they were happily married, you’d think wedding season would be a real downer, but, perhaps surprisingly, 57.8% of singles surveyed admitted to loving the wedding season, showing the UK to be a remarkably romantic and hopeful nation. All in all, it seems we’re happy for our friends and relatives who are tying the knot, regardless of our own position in life. Perhaps watching others get married reinforces the belief that it will one day happen for us as well.
But of course, it’s not all rose tinted glasses and doves when you’re on your own at a wedding. The complaint that seemed to win hands down in the “what’s the thing that annoys you most about attending a wedding alone?” category was being seated in the “losers” table or being dumped with the children or elderly relatives because you arrived without a date. And with the financial crisis here to stay for a while, it may not surprise you to know that nearly a fifth of people complained about having to bear the cost of a hotel room and present on their own.
Although not that many people complained about being made to feel “single” per se, over 30% reported feeling glum because weddings made them realise they were not in the same place is life as the happy couple. But if you’re alone at a wedding, you may want to take a good look around. Over a quarter of singles see weddings as the perfect pick up spot (more so the men than the women), so you may just get lucky.
