Your Wedding Ceremony
Choose a ceremony that has the most meaning to you both as a couple.
The Legal Bit
In order to marry in the UK:
- You must both be over the age of 16 (if under 18, your parents/guardians must give their consent)
- You must not be closely related
- Two witnesses must be present
- You must both be free and eligible to marry
- The ceremony must take place between 08:00am and 18:00pm
- The ceremony must take place in the presence of an authorised person
- The ceremony must take place in premises where marriage can be legally solemnised, including; register offices, licensed premises, parish churches, and other places of worship registered for marriage
The Religious Wedding Ceremony
Weddings in England and Wales can take place in an Anglican Church or a building that is registered for the solemnisation of marriage. Weddings in Scotland are slightly different in that the Church of Scotland, ministers can marry wedding couples anywhere, so you don’t need to choose a church for your ceremony.
In order to marry in the Church of England, you must have your banns read out in church for 3 Sundays in the 3 months prior to your wedding. (Banns are an announcement of your intention to marry)
You must speak to the vicar of the church that you would like to marry in. If the vicar agrees to marry you, they will arrange for the banns to be read and a common licence to be issued.
Your vicar will discuss the various options available to you for the ceremony, items such as the readings and hymns and the choice of wording for the ceremony.
The Civil Wedding Ceremony
A civil ceremony is a wedding ceremony with no religious context. In England and Wales a civil ceremony would take place in a register office or at a licensed venue that has been approved for civil marriage. It is not possible to marry outdoors. You can have a civil ceremony in Scotland, again the ceremony can take place at a register office or at an approved venue, it is possible that the venue in outside and therefore in Scotland it is possible to marry outdoors.
Approved premises can include stately homes, country houses, barns, hotels, restaurants and even public zoos:!
Once you have decided upon a civil ceremony, you need to give notice of marriage at your local register office. If you are planning to marry in a different area, you need to contact the register office in the district where you would like to marry.
Useful Contacts
Church of England
Church in Wales – Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru
Church of Scotland
Catholic Church
Baptists Union
British Humanist Association
General Register Office for England and Wales
General Register for Northern Ireland
General Register for Scotland
Greek Archdiocese
Jewish Marriage Council
Marriage Care
Methodist Church
United Reform Church