Wedding industry experiences sharp decline after royal marriage booms

The UK wedding industry is shrinking fast. Around 150 wedding businesses have already closed in 2025, the first recorded drop for the sector. Only 34 new businesses have opened on balance this year, compared to 675 in 2018, when Prince Harry married Meghan Markle.

Royal weddings have long pushed couples to spend more and encouraged entrepreneurs to open wedding businesses. After the 2011 marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, 578 new businesses opened. The 2018 royal wedding brought even more growth.

But that momentum has now gone. The 2025 figures show a 95% fall from the 2018 peak. The wider UK retail sector is also struggling, with over 11,000 independent shops closing in 2024 alone.