Wedding Survey reveals modern views on love, marriage and weddings.

Lace bridal glove

Debbie wedding sandal

Tallulah and sash bridesmaid dress

As the wedding season picks up pace, a new survey reveals what 21st Century brides and grooms think of weddings and marriage. From what you are spending on your big day in these credit crunch times, to the best and worst celebrity wedding dresses and what your first dance as man and wife will be, all is revealed.

According to the research commissioned by Living TV, the amount that couples are spending on their big day has dropped by £5000 as frugality has taken over from wedding extravagance but despite the cost involved, an overwhelming 88.5% of the 4000 couples surveyed still believe in the sanctity of  marriage! 29 and 28 were established as the average age for men and women respectively to tie the knot with an average of five serious relationships being loved and lost prior to meeting The One for the marriage to stand the test of time.

Surprisingly though, almost a ¼ of the couples surveyed failed to consummate their marriage on honeymoon. Perhaps the stress of the wedding is all too much or in this era of couples setting up home together before the big day, there isn't so much importance placed on this as there was when our parents and grandparents tied the knot.

As for that all-important wedding dress, Princess Di's fairytale dress for her wedding to Prince Charles back in the romantic ‘80's was voted as the perfect wedding dress of all time. It was chosen above other fashion favourites such as the fabulous gown that Sarah Jessica Parker wore in last summer's box office hit: Sex and the City - The Movie. On the other end of the scale, the pink Cinderella dress worn Jordan in her marriage to Peter Andre was voted as the worst wedding dress. Perhaps it was a sign of what was to come with that marriage coming to an early end in full reality TV style.

Aerosmith's “I Don't Want To Miss a Thing” was voted as the top track to take your first dance as man and wife too. It narrowly pipped Frankie Valli's “Can't Take My Eyes Off You” to the top spot and Stevie Wonder's “Isn't She Lovely” and Robbie's “Angels” took third and fourth spot respectively.

Also it appears that many of you are straying from tradition and making your own unique stamp on your big day. A ¼ of men surveyed said that they would choose a Best Woman over a Best Man, nearly half of brides are having their say at the wedding breakfast in a stamp of female independence rather than letting their man say everything for them. And that old “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue” has also seen it's day with a third of brides-to-be shunning the old saying.

To view the full survey, click here. And as for when you are planning your own big day, don't forget to browse our wedding information pages. Designed to make organising your big day as stress free as possible, we have articles on every aspect of weddings and wedding planning that you could possibly think of. Plus we're adding to and updating them all the time, so there's always something new to read and see.

And when it comes to all those gorgeous wedding accessories that make your big day extra special, don't forget to check out Henry Kaye's complete range of stunning wedding shoes (for brides, bridesmaids and pageboys too!), beautiful bridesmaid and flowergirl dresses, stylish pageboy outfits and exquisite wedding bags. We have something to suit all tastes and budgets!