The one aspect of wedding planning that could affect whether a marriage lasts

Divorce is probably the furthest thing from a couple's minds when planning their big day.

But there's one major factor in organising a wedding that could have an impact on whether or not the bride and groom stay together in the long term. There's often pressure to splash lots of cash on the occasion but doing so could have a very damaging effect. Couples who spend more on their wedding are more likely to divorce than others, a new study has found. The amount that couples spend on engagement rings, the ceremony and reception is inversely proportionate to how long their marriage will last, according to the survey of 3,000 married people in the US. "Spending between $2,000 and $4,000 on an engagement ring is associated with 1.3 times greater hazard of divorce as compared to spending between $500 and $2,000," the study paper, written by economics professors Andrew Francis-Tan and Hugo M Mialon, reads. The more value a couple places on physical attraction also means the more likely it is the union will end in divorce. "Reporting that one’s partner’s looks were important in the decision to marry is significantly associated with shorter marriage duration," Mialon told The Independent. Spending money on a post-wedding holiday is worthwhile, though, according to the survey. Going on honeymoon is "significantly associated with a lower hazard of divorce," the researchers found. The latest statistics show that Irish couples spend an average of €26,015 on their weddings. The average spend on an engagement ring is €1,849 while couples drop €5,261 on average on their honeymoon.