Weddings 2022: Greater Manchester is runner-up in list of UK wedding capitals - according to Hitched.co.uk

After an unprecedented two years, the wedding industry continues to bounce back after weddings were postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic.

Leading wedding website Hitched.co.uk has delved into its online vendor data and analysed more than 15,500 listings to reveal which regions and cities across the UK offer the most options for nearly-weds, when it comes to planning their big days.

And it is good news for Greater Manchester as the city-region was named one of the top places in the UK to tie the knot.

Wedding Capital of the UK

The data revealed that Greater Manchester came in second position in Hitched’s quest to find the UK’s wedding capital, with an average of 83.87 wedding suppliers per 100,000 people.

Durham, in North East England, came out on top as it has an average of 260.72 wedding suppliers per 100,000 residents.

This statistic is three times as much as Greater Manchester in second.

Photographers and videographers are the biggest vendor category in Durham, which is home to 139 listed wedding suppliers.

Surrey rounded out the top three wedding capitals, with 82.77 wedding vendors per 100,000 people listed on Hitched.co.uk.

In both Durham and Greater Manchester, photography and videography are the most common type of wedding vendor, whereas in Surrey, it’s all about the wedding caterers.

What are the top Wedding Supplier Categories?

When looking at the main categories used to determine a supplier, it is clear that  photographers and videographers are the most common supplier type.

There are more than 3,600 to choose from, almost a quarter (23.51%) of all suppliers on Hitched.co.uk are listed as content creators of some sort.

In 2021, photography was the third biggest spend by couples planning a wedding, with an average of £1,200 spent capturing their big day.

Wedding venues come in as the second most popular category, as there’s more that 2,200 to choose from, across the country.

The average cost of a wedding in the UK, according to the latest Hitched Annual Wedding Survey, was £17,300. With the cost of the venue making up the biggest chunk of that spend at an average cost of £7,600.

It appears that since lockdown, couples feel that choosing the right venue is one of the most important aspects of their wedding. As couples spent 40% more on this area, than before the pandemic.

What are the top cities across the UK?

Hitched also considered the city-level data to see which particular cities in the UK had the most options for nearly-weds.

The data revealed that Cobham, in Surrey, is the city with the most wedding suppliers on offer, with 494 in total. Of those, 166 are catering and drinks suppliers and there are also 63 photographers and videographers to choose from.

The city coming in second is Birmingham, which has 252 different suppliers to choose from.

Photographers and videographers are the most common in Birmingham, with 51 listed. This is then followed by hair and beauty specialists with 33 and entertainment vendors, with 32 listed.

Manchester rounds out the top three with 212 wedding suppliers on offer for nearly-weds.

Zoe Burke, editor of Hitched.co.uk said: “When it comes to planning the wedding of your dreams, there’s no such thing as ‘too much choice’. It’s great to see such a wealth of vendors available to nearlyweds across the UK, especially after such a challenging few years.

“The wedding industry is so unlike any other wedding industry in the UK - the relationship couples build with their chosen suppliers and venue is so personal and special, so it’s heartening to see that there are plenty to choose from across the UK, especially for northern and Scottish couples.

“We’ve been saying for some time that the wedding industry has come back with a bang, and this data proves it!”