As figures launched earlier this week indicate that the number of people taking out a loan to cover the cost of their wedding has soared by almost half in the last year, name change experts at The Legal Deed Service, have seen an influx in name changes coming from couples who are opting out of tying the knot altogether and changing their name and title by Deed Poll instead.
The new report from Sainsbury’s finance found that an estimated 13,600 people borrowed £113m during the first four months of the year to cover the cost of getting married, but more staggering still, applications made to The Legal Deed Service for their innovative title change service, since January 2009, are up by 75 per-cent.
Chief executive of The Legal Deed Service, Jamie Jackson said, “We are getting so many people contacting us to change their name to that of their current partner and snubbing marriage altogether! It seems to be a mixture of the added expense of a wedding and lack of commitment that is seeing this new trend – it is a major indication of the state of marriage in the UK in today’s society. As the average cost of a UK wedding rising to almost £15,000, the current economic crisis is proving to be a huge hurdle for many couples wanting to embark on married life.
Liz Brewer, the etiquette expert and party organiser, whose new series of ‘Ladette To Lady’ is currently showing on ITV1, said, “It is simply appalling that women are doing this, your wedding day is the one thing that should matter in your life, it is tragic.
“Weddings don’t have to cost a fortune and it is not absolutely necessary to spend a lot of money on your big day. Some of the most beautiful weddings I have been to have been where the couple were bare foot on a beach somewhere with flowers in the bride’s hair.”
As well as changing their surname to that of their partner, people are also contacting The Legal Deed Service to change their title from Miss to Mrs.
Mr Jackson, whose online service costs just over £10 for a standard adult name change and just £11.50 to change a child’s name, said, “Our theory is that couples who were planning to get married before the credit crunch are finding it increasingly difficult to pay for their dream wedding. As a result, they are opting for our name change service as a more cost effective alternative. The figures launched by Sainsbury’s earlier this week are not that surprising, what is surprising, however is that the amount being borrowed is less than this time last year, it seems we are becoming more cautious as a nation!”
Angela Yates, from Kent recently put in an application with The Legal Deed Service to change her name to that of her partner after having two small children, she said, “I wanted to change my name to Mrs Angela Childs, so that my two children had the same name when they went to school.”
Angela added, “I wouldn’t want a big white wedding anyway but financially it is an issue, we have thought about marriage but when people get married these days it seems to ruin everything. I would recommend a name change to anyone in the same position, me and my partner consider ourselves to be married anyway.”
About the Legal Deed Service: Contacts: Jamie Jackson, The Legal Deed Service 01630 656534.
Editor’s Note: The Legal Deed Service is represented by search engine optimisation agency, Top Position. Please direct all press queries to Tina Clough. Email: tina@topposition.co.uk or call: 0800 094 9001, Option 7.
