Proposed Changes to Wedding Laws - Making it Easier to Get Married

The UK’s wedding laws were formed in 1836 and are still followed to this day. However, these laws have been unable to keep up with modern times, and there is a dire need to change them. In 2014, the Law Commission reviewed the current laws for getting married in England and Wales and announced the need for these laws to change.

In 2019, the project for reforming the laws entirely began. Read on to find problems with the current laws and what will likely change in the upcoming years.

Marriage Difficulties of the Current Law

The strict regulations set by the government back in 1836 are still being enforced because the law did not evolve to match modern times. Even today, marriages are strictly regulated regarding how and when they will occur.

There are only two options for couples looking to get married. Either they opt for a religious ceremony at the church or a civil ceremony at the register office. It restricts couples from having a wedding reflecting their beliefs or choices. Moreover, prior notice must be given to the church or register office, depending on the wedding type.

The restrictions on the venues are also a problem, considering only places of worship, register office, and pre-approved venues for civil weddings (that too are limited) can be used for weddings. Couples aren’t even allowed to marry in outdoor areas except for approved spaces.

But that’s not the worst part of it all. The real problem lies in the marriage registration process. Couples failing to comply with these set regulations, particularly in the case of religious ceremonies, will not have their marriage legally recognised.

What’s astonishing is that people remain unaware of their lack of marital status till the divorce or death of a partner. Officially, they do not hold the status of marriage and remain deprived of protection.

Proposed Changes to the Marriage Law

With such strict wedding laws, the Law Commission proposed changes that make it easier to get married, allowing them to get married on their own terms, i.e., their choice of venue and ceremony.

Here are the highlights of the propositions made by the Law Commission:

Online Notification and Publication

The new laws will allow couples to notify of their wedding online. Moreover, they can also choose a convenient marriage registration district where a registration officer can easily interview them. However, for Anglican weddings, the preliminaries will continue to hold.

In order to make information more accessible to broader communities, the notices of all upcoming weddings will also be published online.

Weddings Reflecting Beliefs

Couples will be allowed to hold marriages reflecting their beliefs by having an interfaith minister carry out the ceremony to contain aspects of both couple’s belief systems.

Moreover, ceremonies can be carried out in any place. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a place of worship. Plus, civil ceremonies can have some aspects of religion, such as hymns, provided the overall wedding remains civil.

Choice of Venue

Outdoor weddings, local venues, and cruise ship weddings (registered in the UK) can be the choice of venues to make weddings more affordable for couples.

Conclusion

Considering such heavy restrictions on the older laws, the new laws are likely to make a revolutionary change, making it easier for couples to get married on their own terms. The good thing about the new propositions is that they make marriage registration simpler while safeguarding the dignity of marriages and the rules and practices of religious groups.