The Commons Library briefing paper on marriage venues was published on Tuesday 6 July 2021 and it sets out where couples may marry in England and Wales. The paper covers where marriages, civil marriages and religious marriages, can take place in England and Wales. In brief, it also covers Scotland.
Under the current regulation, there is legal recognition for both civil marriages and religious marriages, but not for marriages by non-religious belief organisations such as, humanist groups. Parties engaging in these marriages must have an additional ceremony, for example at a register office, for the marriage to be legally recognised.
Therefore, the Law Commission has consulted on its provisional proposals for a new scheme. One of the features of this scheme is that regulation would be based on the officiant rather than the current focus of the building. This would enable greater flexibility for marriages to take place in a wider range of venues and gives the autonomy back to the couple to use a variety of ceremonies to mark their wedding
The Law Commission plans to publish its final report with recommendations for the Government at the end of 2021. You can find the briefing paper here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn02842/.
For further information about marriages or to book an appointment, please feel free to contact us by email (mail@goodmanray.com) or telephone (020 7608 1227).
Sophie Sibley
