The marriage market in Italy

The wedding market includes all products and services revolving around the wedding. The market includes clothing (wedding dress and formal wear), event venue, catering, decorations, etc.

The size of the global market is growing, in line with the increase in disposable income and the strong cultural and social ties of marriage. The United States leads the global market in terms of spending.

In analyzing demand, it is important to look at trends in recent years. In Northern Italy, there has been a boom in civil marriage, which accounted for 63.9 percent of the total marriages celebrated in 2018, while in Southern Italy, newlyweds are more traditional, deciding to get married in church in 69.6 percent of cases. In addition, the last 10 years have seen an increase in the number of weddings in which the bride and groom are over 65 years old, which represents a new potential opportunity for market players. In fact, while it is true that the divorce rate has risen, it is also true that more and more Italians are marrying twice or three times as they reach old age.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of do-it-yourself arrangements, where wedding-related products such as invitations, decorations, etc. are homemade. Market players have expanded their offerings to meet this demand, selling products that the bride and groom can customize to their liking.

Finally, the emergence of COVID-19 has had a negative effect on the wedding market in Italy, given the numerous decrees that have limited the number of meetings and postponed most weddings to date.