Govt ‘ties itself in knots’ over 21st century wedding makeover

Plans to revamp “outdated” wedding practices and requirements have been announced by the Government.

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) proposals, set out in its consultation document ‘Tying the knot: reforming weddings law in England and Wales’, purportedly aim to make marriage simpler, cheaper and more inclusive, with the department claiming current wedding laws belong “to a different age”, and place unnecessary  “restrictions on where people can marry and how their ceremony can be conducted”.

Under the reforms, weddings law will move away from a building-based system to an officiant-based model, will ditch ‘prescribed words’ of consent and allow couples to marry in “a much wider range of locations” — including crowded beaches, tethered hot-air balloons and private homes.

In response to previous criticism of the plans when they were first mooted in 2020, the Government also aims to introduce “a structured dignity framework” to ensure “the dignity and significance of marriage” is upheld.

Consent

The MoJ document states that some religious groups and “non-religious belief organisations” may have “issues” with the use of “prescribed words” to express consent or a person’s freedom to legally marry.

“For instance, the Hindu ritual of the couple walking seven times around the Agni, the sacred fire, or the Muslim ritual of the exchange of ijāb (offer) and qubūl (acceptance) are understood within these religions to be a central act by which the couple enter into marriage.

“Under the current law, these acts are not recognised as a lawful expression of consent to a legally valid marriage and similar concerns may arise for non-religious belief organisations whose ceremonies may express consent through actions, including rituals, rather than by set words.”

Therefore, it concludes, “in religious and non-religious belief ceremonies, consent should be capable of being expressed through actions as well as words”.

Location

In recommending weddings be allowed to take place behind closed doors, the Government said that “many religious and non-religious belief organisations may wish to conduct weddings in private homes according to their beliefs, including some Christian denominations, Muslims, Hindus, Pagans and Humanists”.

It also said: “If permitted, weddings in territorial seas and inland waters would include weddings on, for example (but not limited to) canal boats, narrowboats, river cruise boats (such as those on the Thames) and historic or decommissioned ships. It could also include larger vessels on coastal waters, such as chartered passenger ferries and yachts or sailing boats”.

The Government predicts that by “removing cost barriers and increasing choice” its plans “may lead to a 3% increase in the number of weddings”.

Concerns

Responding to the proposals, The Christian Institute’s Dave Greatorex observed: “Cheaper weddings and other initiatives to encourage people to get married are good, if the seriousness and dignity of marriage is genuinely upheld – and that’s a big ‘if’. Any changes must not undermine marriage.

“The proposals include several troubling suggestions, such as abolishing the use of ‘prescribed words’ and scrapping the requirement for open doors. These provisions go to the very nature of marriage as a public exchange of solemn promises, so it would be very concerning if these ideas written into law.

“To pull down perceived ‘barriers’, the Government is ditching important safeguards and introducing a multiplicity of permutations when it comes to officiants, ceremonies and venues. the Government runs the risk of tying itself knots.”

Criticising the Government paper, C4M observed: “They say they want to strengthen marriage – then propose, line by line, the opposite.”

Long-established traditions, the pro-marriage campaign group complained, will be supplanted by “a licensed celebrant industry, a state regulator of ministers, and weddings sold from cruise-ship brochures”.