The joy and pageantry of weddings hasn’t changed much in the past generation but the age of the people walking down the aisle sure has.
Consider this: In 1995, five percent of New Hampshire brides were aged 20. In 2025, barely half of one percent of brides were. Similarly, about two percent of grooms were aged 20 in 1995, whereas in 2025 the figure was well under one percent.
In fact, young marriages have gotten so unusual in New Hampshire that last year there were more 40-year-old couples than 20-year-old couples saying “I do.”
This information comes from the state’s collection of vital records, which can be searched through the New Hampshire Vital Records Information Network online at nhvrinweb.sos.nh.gov.
It shows that the number of weddings in New Hampshire grew from 1995, when data begins, through 2005 but has been stagnant since then. There were 9,497 weddings in 2005 and 9,322 last year.
To get a sense of how the age of the newly married has shifted, the Monitor looked at the number of brides and number of grooms aged 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 in each of four years: 1995, 2005, 2015 and 2025.
We found that the number of marriages of 20- and 25-year-olds has fallen consistently, while the number of marriages of 30- and 35-year-olds has risen. Surprisingly, the number of marriages among 40-year-olds has stayed pretty consistent, around 150 a year, with most on their second or third marriage.
Aside from numbers, another big difference is experience. In 1995, two-thirds of 35-year-old brides in 1995 were on their second or third marriage, but last year a full 80% of them were getting married for the first time, with a similar ratio for grooms. Waiting longer to get married is definitely the norm now.
This pattern isn’t limited to New Hampshire, of course. Federal statistics show that the median age for brides in their first marriage — meaning half were older and half were younger — increased by four years from 1995 to 2025. Nationally, the median age for first-time brides was under 21 as late as 1973; now it’s almost 29.
One thing, however, hasn’t changed: The median age for grooms has always been two years older than brides’ median age.
Incidentally, this data includes same-sex marriages where the partners have chosen to designate one person as groom and the other as bride, but it doesn’t include such marriages where both persons choose to be designated “spouse.”