There were 19,898 marriages registered in Ireland in 2025, which included 624 same-sex marriages. The number of registered marriages fell by 2.2% from 20,348 marriages in 2024, and were down 9.7% since 2015 where the number of marriages was 22,025.
The marriage rate per 1,000 of population stood at 3.6 in 2025 and was 4.7 in 2015.
The average age for brides and grooms in opposite sex marriages was 36.1 years for brides and 38.0 years for grooms in 2025. This was up from 33.2 years for brides, and 35.3 years from grooms in 2015.
In 2025, the average age of males in same-sex marriages was 40.6 years, while the average age of females in same-sex marriages was 38.1 years.
Civil ceremonies and Roman Catholic marriage ceremonies were the most popular choice for opposite-sex couples accounting for 6,304 and 5,927 of the 19,274 ceremonies in 2025.
Friday was the most popular day to get married in 2025.
August was the most popular month to wed for both opposite-sex and same-sex couples in 2025.
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Statistician's Comment
The CSO has today (05 May 2026) published Marriages 2025, with data compiled from the marriage registration forms of all marriages registered in Ireland in 2025.
Commenting on the release, Seán O’Connor, Statistician in the Life Events and Demography Division, said: “There were 19,898 marriages in Ireland in 2025 including 624 same-sex marriages. This equates to a crude (unadjusted) marriage rate of 3.6 per 1,000 population. The equivalent rate in 2024 was 3.8 while the rate for 2015 was 4.7 per 1,000 population. Overall, the total number of marriages celebrated in 2025 decreased by 2.2% from 2024 where 20,348 marriages were registered. Since 2015, marriages fell 9.7% from 22,025 marriages. Opposite-sex marriages fell by 2.1% from 19,680 marriages in 2024 to 19,274 in 2025, while same-sex marriages fell by 6.6% or by 44 marriages to 624 from 668 in 2024.
Age of Brides and Grooms
The average age of women in opposite-sex marriages was 36.1 years in 2025, while the comparable age 10 years ago was 33.2 years. The average age of women in same-sex marriages came down from 40 years in 2020 to 38.1 years in 2025.
The average age of men in opposite-sex marriages was 38.0 years in 2025, compared with 35.3 years in 2015. The average age of men in same-sex marriages was 40.6 years, slightly moving up from 40 years in 2020.
Ceremony Choice
The most popular form of ceremony for opposite-sex couples was a Civil ceremony at 6,304 or 32.7%, followed by a Roman Catholic ceremony at 5,927 or 30.8% in 2025. Looking back 10 years, the proportion of Roman Catholic ceremonies for opposite-sex weddings has fallen from 56.7% (12,486 ceremonies) to 30.8% (5,927 ceremonies).
In 2025, the most popular form of ceremony varied across different parts of Ireland for opposite-sex couples. For instance, in 20 local authorities, a Roman Catholic ceremony was the most popular choice (Limerick County, Leitrim, Mayo, Longford, Roscommon, Offaly, Donegal, Monaghan, Laois, South Dublin, Cork County, Galway City, Clare, Waterford County, Kerry, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Westmeath and Cavan). In 10 local authorities (Galway County, Carlow, Sligo, Louth, Limerick City, Cork City, Wicklow, Waterford City, Wexford, and Dublin City), a civil ceremony was the most popular form of marriage, while for the remaining three areas (Fingal, Kildare, and Meath), most opposite-sex couples preferred other types of religious ceremonies.
For same-sex couples, 338 of the 624 ceremonies which occurred in 2025 were a civil ceremony (54.2%), followed by other religious type ceremonies (28.5%).
Most Popular Months and Days
August was the most popular month for both opposite-sex and same-sex marriages in 2025. January was the least favoured month to tie the knot for both opposite-sex marriages and same-sex marriages.
Friday and Saturday continue to be the most popular days for wedding ceremonies for opposite-sex couples, while Friday, followed by Thursday, were the most favoured days to wed for same-sex couples. For all couples, Sundays and Wednesdays were the least popular days of the week to marry. View the most and least popular wedding dates of the year in our data visualisation app.”