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With the average cost of a wedding around £18,600 there’s no wonder fewer people are getting married these days. According to the Office of National Statistics in 2009 only 21.3 out of 1000 men aged 16 or over married. The level for women was even lower at 19.2 per 1000. In 2009 a total of 231,490 marriages were registered in England and Wales. In 1895 there 228,204 marriages, but the population back then was much lower. This is a substantial drop compared to 1972 when the number of registered marriages peaked at 480,285. In fact, in 2009, the marriage rate (i.e. the proportion of single population that actually got married) was at its lowest level since records began in 1862. The figures show that more than two-thirds of marriages were actually civil ceremonies. There were 155,860 civil ceremonies in 2009, or 67 per cent of the total. There were 75,630 religious weddings, a fall of nearly 3,000 in a year. Religious ceremonies have declined by a quarter since 1999.

Last weekend the Genes team were very excited to be attending the Who Do You Think You Are show at Olympia this for the very first time. We had all been discussing and planning the event for months and there had been lots of meetings and discussions to make sure everything was just as we wanted. Ryan (our designer) worked really hard making sure the set was going to look as authentic as possible.

Don't miss The Telegraph this Saturday, February 19, and Sunday, February 20, for your FREE Trace Your Family History guide and CD-Rom, in association with Who Do You Think Your Are? Magazine.
This step-by-step guide and CD Rom will give you the skills you need to discover your family background in only 14 days.
To find out more visit http://www.telegraph.co.uk/promotions

With Valentine's Day recently passed and romance in the air, we've been thinking about marriage and how it has changed over the years. Last week was Marriage Week in the UK, a week designed to celebrate the diversity and vibrancy of marriage as the basis of family life timed to include Valentine’s Day (7th – 14th Feb 2011). Marriage Week was created by Richard and Maria Kane and has been held every year since 1997.

This week in 1533 Henry VIII married his second wife Ann Boleyn; it became the most famous of all his six marriages and their daughter Elizabeth was one of the greatest Monarchs England has ever had.

I am Estelle and I am the Genes Reunited product assistant. I read recently that the Department for Work and Pensions have announced some new statistics. They predict that one in 5 of us will live to see our 100th birthday. 

This year Genes Reunited is promoting Christmas as a time to connect with our own family history since traditionally it is the time of year that most of us are with our families. We are proud to be a part of Start Your Family Tree week which is running from the 26th December to the 1st January. There will be quizzes and competitions and handy hints each day to help you build your tree and research your own family history.

In May of this year we launched the 1911 census Enumerator Summary Books. This was the first time that our members were able to access any records from the 1911 census and the first time that a census included intimate questions to the population that put their lives in context.

Recently we carried out some extensive Market Research. One of the main points that cropped up quite often was that our newer members would start their tree and then did not know what to do next. We also had feedback from our older members who felt under-valued. We wanted to have an area where we could point members in the right direction for help with their research. We also wanted to express our gratitude to our members who kindly volunteer to do look-ups for people. Over the years they have broken down a lot of brick walls!

Black Friday is an important day in the history of the Suffragette movement. On the 18^th November 1910 just over 300 Suffragettes marched to the House of Commons to try and make parliament accept a bill allowing them the right to vote.