by Sacha Walters, Staff Reporter

Dancehall artistes Beenie Man and D'Angel tied the knot in August, but apparently they are in the minority as fewer Jamaicans are saying "I do".

With the fuss over the marriage of both entertainers, it would seem that Jamaicans are in love with the concept of marriage but apparently only if it's happening to others.

According to the most current information from the Registrar General's Department, there has been a decrease in marriages from 2002 to 2004. In 2002, 23,070 marriages were recorded. In the following year that figure decreased to 22,476. Provisional data for 2004 showed a further decrease with 21,670 marriages in the country.

Marriages on the whole seem to be heading for doom as divorce, on average, is on the rise. In 2002 1,745 divorces were recorded and in the following year they decreased to 1,600. However, in 2004 the figure once again increased to 1,739 and 2005 followed suite showing 1,806 divorces.

Reverend Roland McNally of the Church of God in Jamaica confirmed that he personally has been doing more weddings especially for people who have been living together for a number of years.

Reverend Dave Goffe of the same church said while he has not been actively performing weddings he does not think that people have lost faith in marriage. He believes that people are waiting because they are more aware that marriage is neither simple or as glamorous as it is sometimes portrayed. "It's not that they're not doing it," he said, citing Beenie Man as someone who one would not readily think would get married. However, it is obvious that he took time with his decision, he added.