Oz couples ditch church for outdoor weddings

MELBOURNE - A study has revealed that more and more Australian couples are opting to hold their weddings outdoors rather than inside a church.

The study on 1,500 couples revealed that only 1 in 4 (25 percent) unmarried couples are planning to tie the knot in a church, while 38 percent find gardens to be the ideal wedding location, and 20 percent chose the beach.

Other locations people are now choosing for wedding ceremonies include boats, parks, the home, and the office.

The study commissioned by Australian Marriage Celebrants, one of the largest associations of celebrants in the country, revealed some interesting findings about how the wedding ceremony has changed over the years.

For example, while in the 1970s, 85 percent of weddings took place in churches, this figure dropped to 35 percent in 2010.

“Today, many couples feel uncomfortable pretending to have a religious belief in order to marry in a church,” the Daily Telegraph quoted Keith Lammond, President of Australian Marriage Celebrants, as saying.

“Some even say they feel dishonest or hypocritical in considering a church wedding. Instead, couples are seeing the appeal of having a personalised marriage in a location of their choice,” he stated. (ANI)