3,360 marriages took place in the A.C. of the Basque Country in July, August and September 2004, meaning a 4.3% decrease in relation to the same quarter of the previous year, according to Eustat data. There was a fall in the number of marriages in all three provinces compared to the third quarter of 2003. 1,709 weddings were held among people from Bizkaia, a 3.7% decrease; for those from Gipuzkoa, with 1,074 weddings, 1.1% less were registered and for those from Álava, where there were 410, there was a 15.1% fall in relation to the same period of the previous year. In the case of residents from outside of the A.C. of the Basque Country, the number of weddings came to 167.

July was the favourite month to get married

July was the month with the most weddings (1,502), compared to 1,389 in September. August, on the other hand was the summer month when the least weddings were held (469).

There was a significant rise in the number of church weddings in the third quarter. Compared to the winter months, when over half the weddings were civil, during this period 65.8% of the ceremonies were religious, although this showed a 12% decrease in relation to the same period of the previous year. Church weddings in Alava accounted for 62.9% of the total, in Gipuzkoa it was 62.5% and in Bizkaia the figure was 67.6%.

Of the 3,360 weddings held in the third quarter of 2004, 3,228 of the men and 3,309 of the women who married were residents of the A.C. of the Basque Country. For 3,047 of the grooms (94.4%) this was their first marriage, while 17 widowers and 164 divorcés remarried. The percentage of first marriages for women was similar to that of men: there were 3,126 first-time brides (94.5%), 18 widows and 165 divorcées.

As for the distribution of marriages by the ages of the couples, 45.3% of brides were aged over 30, while among bridegrooms, this percentage came to 65%.