Everything I have read about the law on weddings in England and Wales suggests it’s not possible to get married in your back garden (unless you own a stately home or a castle or something). (The law is slightly different in Scotland).
However, I was reading a thread on Facebook yesterday where a handful of people were saying they had got married in their back garden, by a registrar (so, not just a symbolic ceremony with a celebrant and then doing the legal bit at the registry office later, but actually getting officially married by the registrar in their own back garden).
But I just cannot see how it’s possible… is there something I’m missing here? Or are some local authorities just a bit more lax than others in what they’ll allow? Can someone explain it to me?
From the citizens advice website:
”Where can a marriage take place
A marriage can take place in:-
- a Register Office
- premises approved by the local authority such as a hotel
- a church of the Church of England, Church in Wales
- a synagogue or any other private place if both partners are Jewish
- a Meeting House if one or both partners are either members of the Society of Friends (Quakers) or are associated with the Society by attending meetings
- any registered religious building (England and Wales only)
- the home of one of the partners if the partner is housebound or detained, for example, in prison
- a place where one partner is seriously ill and not expected to recover, for example, in hospital
- a licensed naval, military or air force chapel
Local authorities in England and Wales may approve premises other than Register Offices where civil marriages may take place. Applications for approval must be made by the owner or trustee of the building, not the couple.
The premises must be regularly open to members of the public, so private homes are unlikely to be approved, since they are not normally open to the public. Stately homes, hotels and civic buildings are likely to be thought suitable. Approval will not be given for open air venues, such as moonlit beaches or golf courses. Generally, the premises will need to be permanent built structures, although it may be possible for approval to be given to a permanently moored, publicly open boat. Hot air balloons or aeroplanes will not be approved.”
Other websites, including .gov websites, seem to back that up.