Couples spending average of €25,000 on weddings

THE average Irish wedding costs €25,000 and has become another example of the wider consumerist values that seem to be embracing Irish life, according to a leading sociologist.

Marriage remained a major rite of passage and was still marked by elaborate ceremonies, senior sociology lecturer at University College Cork, Dr Linda Connolly, said.

Research by one of her students on brides found that the average cost of an Irish wedding was €25,000, Dr Connolly told the Merriman Summer School in Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare, yesterday.