Behind The Mic With Joe Mathieu: Marriage Rate Drops

BOSTON (CBS) - Things have been quiet at the altar.

The marriage rate has fallen to its lowest level in more than a century, according to new research first published by USA Today.

This after the marriage rate fell more than five-percent during the recession - from 2007 to 2009.

In fact, 175,000 weddings were postponed or outright canceled during that period of time as romance took a back seat to finance.

You can probably figure out where I'm going with this.

As usual, it all comes back to the economy.

Researchers say the economic downturn and resulting trouble in the job market caused more people to press pause on their wedding plans.

Apparently more people want the house with the white picket fence before they get married.

So much for young love.

But as the economy gets stronger we can hear the sound of more wedding bells in the distance.

Indeed the report projects a big jump in weddings due to all the pent-up demand since the recession.

But boom times are not likely at hand for wedding planners. Turns out a third of all marriages in the U.S. are "re-marriages." And those are not typically among young people.

Now before we get all sappy about this, you should know that no one is predicting the marriage rate will keep trending higher once we get through this pent-up demand.

But one thing they didn't include in this research is same-sex marriage which could change this story again.

You can follow Joe on Twitter @JoeMathieuWBZ