10% of brides in the world choose a dress designed in Spain, a country where the sector is already an international export power and maintains national loyalty. Although the amount spent on weddings has dropped by over 40% since the start of the crisis, Spanish brides are not prepared to forego elegance and choose models by national firms to say a very glamorous “I do”.
The national market and strong exports keep the wedding fashion sector in good health: one out of every 10 brides in the world wears a dress made in Spain. This figure makes Spain the world’s second biggest exporter of wedding dresses, behind China. According to data from the Centro de Información Textil y de la Confección, CITYC, during 2013 Spanish exports were 13.8% higher than in the previous year, reaching a turnover of more than 436 million Euros. Of these, 190 million Euros ¿ 10.4% more than in 2012- correspond to the Catalan market, which alone accounts for 43.6% of the total.
The wedding and ceremony fashion sector is one of the most active in the Spanish economy. In fact, according to a report distributed by the consultancy firm Deloitte in May 2012, this industry had a turnover of 1,300 million Euros in one year, 15% of the textile sector total.
On the other hand, if we analyse the importance of the bride’s dress within the economic sector relating to weddings, it is the item that is subject to the fewest cuts of all nuptial costs. According to the Federación de Usuarios y Consumidores Independientes (FUCI) no less than 500 Euros is spent on the dress. If we add the price of the shoes, accessories, make up, hairdo and bouquet, this notably increases the total cost to at least 1,500 Euros. The reception, the honeymoon and other wedding details, however, are where the biggest cuts are made.
Civil weddings exceed religious ones
According to data from the INE (Spanish Statistics Institute), in less than two decades, there has been a small revolution in the habits of the bride and groom. If in 2006, lay weddings accounted for 43% of the total, they represented 70% in 2013. According to forecasts, in 2015 civil weddings will account for 73% and catholic ceremonies 27%, the exact opposite of 15 years ago.
In Spain, after recording decreases since 2005, the number of nuptials started to recover in 2012, when 168,835 couples tied the knot (3.4% more than in 2011). In absolute numbers, Andalusia is the autonomous community in which the most weddings take place (29,160), followed by Catalonia (26,509) and Madrid (24,526).
Barcelona, May 2014
