A New Weddings Law: where can you get married?

There have been several suggestions over the last five to 10 years that the laws governing where a marriage can take place should be reviewed. It could be said that the recent pandemic has been the catalyst in the latest report from the Law Commission on this.

The new proposed system would focus on regulating the marriage officiant rather than the building in which the wedding takes place. There are various recommendations in respect of the rules that officiants must follow, but for the most part, these are unlikely to be the concerns of the couples being married.

The report considers that there are currently anomalies in the treatment of different beliefs, as different religions are bound by different rules, and it seeks to ensure fairer treatment in this regard. This does not seek to remove the authority of each religious body to impose conditions upon the weddings they conduct.

Other points of note are recommendations to permit notice to be given online, and possibly to allow remote weddings.

These recommendations are not yet law. The report was published on 19 July 2022. It is now for the government to review, and a response is awaited, although timescales are not available. Should the recommendations be taken up, couples will be able to marry where they choose, provided that they can find an officiant to authorise it. We may see marriage certificates with unusual locations becoming the norm!