Wedding Season Begins & Single Catholics Fly Solo, Unfazed

Tomorrow I'll be attending my first wedding of 2011, beginning a series of weepy toasts and bouquet tosses.

How do you feel about the wedding invitation that hit your mailbox this spring?

Last year we polled single Catholics on CatholicMatch.com, asking how they felt about wedding season. More than 3,100 people responded. The results:

• 19 percent expressed negative feelings
• 30 percent expressed positive feelings
• 51 percent said they were unfazed

Women were more likely to express dread about upcoming weddings, especially those in the 26- to 35-year-old range. (Those who are 51 and up were least likely to voice dread.) The poll generated 133 comments.

We also asked members who their "plus one" would be at the weddings they were attending. The majority – 70 percent – said they were flying solo. (Here's to independence!) The second most common response, with 14 percent, was bringing a friend. Only 11 percent said they were bringing a date.

Broken down by gender, our male members seemed to approach wedding season with more romantic ambition. They were more likely to bring a date and more likely to fly solo, while our female members were more likely to bring a friend or relative.

What will you be doing? And how do you feel about the next wedding you'll attend?