With the recent tropical temperatures and chaos at many airports are we closer to having weddings on the beach at Southend rather than in the Seychelles?
Prior to the pandemic, civil ceremonies at a licensed venue had to take place either indoors or within a permanent outdoor structure. In March 2022 it was announced that the measures put in place in the summer of 2021 which allowed outdoor weddings at licensed venues in England and Wales would continue indefinitely.
Though this has given more choice to couples as to where they hold their ceremony, the current position is that it still needs to be held at a licenced venue. The Law Commission of England and Wales has recommended in their recent report that there be even more choice and that should be there be further reforms to the laws regulating weddings. The idea being that the focus is more on the regulation on the person officiating the ceremony rather than the venue. Though there would still be rules in place to maintain the dignity of the occasion the proposals would mean that it is more likely that a couple would be able to marry at a location which is meaningful to them. Also if the reforms are accepted the same rules would apply to all weddings so there would no longer be different laws for different religious groups or civil ceremonies.
As of yet these are still proposals, but with the changing climate and increase in living costs, the pandemic may very well have brought long needed change to make a dream wedding more accessible.
For more information on matrimonial matters or to find out how we can help you, please contact our Family Team on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form and a member of our Team will be in touch.