A new report from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency revealed that the number of marriages taking place in the borough increased from 359 in 2007.

Of the marriages that took place last year, 46 per cent were classed as civil marriages with the ceremonies taking place at either the local registrar's office or at approved venues in the borough.

The number of marriages registered in Northern Ireland in 2008 was 8,500, a small decrease on the 8,700 marriages registered in 2007.

The statistics also revealed that the Ballymena average age for grooms was 33.8 and 31.4 for brides, compared to the Northern Board averages - and indeed also the Northern Ireland average - of 33.3 and 31, respectively.

The average age at marriage has increased markedly in the last two decades - the average age at marriage for all brides in 2008 was 31 compared to 26 in 1988, while the average age for the groom in 2008 was 33, compared to 28 in 1988.

Of the marriages that took place in the Ballymena area, 73 per cent of couples had not been previously married, while 50 per cent of couples had been living at the same address prior to the marriage.

While the majority of the marriages that took place in the Ballymena area involved local people, eight per cent of marriages were couples resident outside Northern Ireland.

In the Northern Board area - Antrim, Ballymena, Carrick, Coleraine, Cookstown, Larne, Magherafelt, Moyle and Newtownabbey - the number of marriages that took place was 2,126, with 33 per cent classed as civil marriages.

Seventy-eight per cent of couples married in the Northern Board area had not been previously married, while 53 per cent had been living together before the marriage.

Nine per cent of weddings in the Northern Board area were between couples resident outside Northern Ireland.

The Marriage (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 now allows civil marriage ceremonies to be conducted outside Registrar’s Offices in a number of approved venues. In 2008, 1,056 civil marriage ceremonies (43 per cent of all civil marriage ceremonies) were held in approved venues compared to 1,042 in 2007. Outside religious buildings and Registrar Offices most weddings took place in The Old Inn, Crawsfordsburn in 2008. The most popular civil ceremony venue in the Ballymena area was the Galgorm Manor Hotel with 83 marriages taking place there in 2008.

A total of six civil partnerships took place in the Northern Board area, with 86 taking place in Northern Ireland last year.

Following the trend of a decrease in the number of marriages in 2008, there was also a decrease in the number of marriages that were dissolved. In Northern Ireland in 2008 there were 2,773 divorces - a decrease of 140 divorces or 5 per cent from 2007's figure of 2,913 divorces.

In the Ballymena area, a total of 226 divorces were granted in 2008, with 1,419 granted across the Northern Board area.