What Kind of Wedding?

Time for the Wedding | Banns | Where One Party Lives in Scotland | Where One Party Lives in Ireland | Licence | Bishop’s Registry Offices | Special Licences
| Wedding at a Register Office | Be Certificate | By Licence | Charges | The Divorcee’s Wedding | Marriages in Scotland | Regular Marriages | Irregular Marriages | Void Marriages | Divorced Parties | Marriages of British Subjects Abroad | Foreign Marriages | Naval Marriages

Careful plans should be made for the wedding day, and it is very important that these should be made early.

The bride decides what kind of wedding it is to be— whether it is to be held in a church or Register Office, the month, day and time, and so on.

In some cases a meeting is arranged between the respective parents to discuss the arrangements for the ceremony. In this event, an informal dinner party is given by the bride's parents and all the details are discussed and decided there. Brothers, sisters and interested friends are sometimes invited too.

When the date, time and place have been agreed, the bridegroom must visit the responsible official and make the necessary arrangements.

A decision must be made regarding the question of a reception, and if favorable, where it is to be held, and how many guests are to be invited.

TIME FOR WEDDING

Weddings may take place at any time in the year and every month has its attractions. The time of day is a matter of personal convenience, although midday and afternoon are the most popular times.

The wedding may take place in a church, chapel or before a registrar, at any time between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., with the exception of Jewish marriages, which may take place at any hour of the day; and marriages by Special Licence.

BANNS

Marriage by banns is the most popular way of getting married.    If this method is preferred, the bridal couple should visit the vicar of the church which they have selected, and ask him to allow the ceremony to take place. The clergyman will make sure that the couple are over the age of twenty-one, or, if under, have the consent of their parents.
Providing that he is satisfied as to the propriety of the marriage, the vicar will publish the banns. This is performed by reading them aloud at the morning service (or at the evening service if there is no morning service) on three Sundays before the ceremony.

If the two parties do not live in the same parish, the banns must be read in duplicate in the respective parishes. This means that the clergyman whose church is not being used must convey to the clergyman in whose church the ceremony is to take place, a certificate stating that the banns have been called legally. Without such a certificate, the wedding cannot take place.    The bridegroom should remember this.

Banns may be published, and the marriage solemnized, in the parish church which is the usual place of worship of the bride or bridegroom—although neither party lives in that parish. This publication of banns is, however, additional to any other publication required by law. To qualify for this privilege the applicant must be on what is called the Electoral Roll of the parish in which he or she desires to be married. The vicar will explain the procedure. The wedding may take place on any day within three months of the banns being published. After the lapse of this period, the banns become ineffective, and the parties must either obtain a license or arrange for the republication of banns.

If one party is known by a name other than his or her legal name, the banns should give the one more commonly known. If both parties give wrong names, the marriage may be void. If one party gives the wrong name, he or she may be impri­soned for perjury.

A marriage may be performed in church on the certificate of the superintendent registrar without banns, with the consent of the minister. One party must live in the eccle­siastical parish of the church concerned, or be on the Electoral Roll, as already explained.

WHERE ONE PARTY LIVES IN SCOTLAND

Where one of the parties lives in Scotland, the banns are published in Scotland according to local usage, and in the usual way in the place in England in which the other party lives.

WHERE ONE PARTY LIVES IN IRELAND

The party living in Ireland, after a residence of 7 days, must give notice to the District Registrar of Marriages.

Where one party lives in Scotland or Wales, the English Superintendent Registrar cannot perform the ceremony by Licence. Such marriages may
take place according to the Church of England rite, after the publication of banns, or by ecclesiastical licence.

LICENCE

There are two forms of wedding licence—the ordinary licence and the Special Licence.

The Ordinary Licence.—This is granted by the Legal Secretary of the Archbishop or Bishop of the Province or diocese. The marriage can take place in the parish of one of the parties or in the parish church regularly attended by one party.

One of the parties must apply in person for the licence. He or she must sign a declaration, on oath, stating that there is no legal reason why the marriage cannot take place, and that either or both parties have resided for at least fifteen days immediately preceding, within the parish or ecclesiastical district in which the church selected for the ceremony is situated. In the case of minors the necessary permission signed by both parents, or guardians, must be produced in writing.

With an ordinary licence, banns are unnecessary, no previous notice is required, and the marriage can take place as soon as the licence is issued. In addition, the fees are reasonable, amounting to about £2 15 s. od.

Ordinary licences may be obtained from:

(a) A surrogate for the issue of marriage licences, of whom one or more is to be found in most towns and in some villages. He can take the oath and transact the business with the Registrar of the diocese in which the church is situate. In many cases he will issue the licence at once. (Any Anglican clergyman can supply the names of surrogates.)

(b) The Faculty Office, I, The Sanctuary, West­minster, S.W.i. This licence may be used in any church licensed for weddings, throughout England and Wales.

(c) The Bishop of London's Diocesan Registry, I Dean's Court, E.C.4. This Licence may be used for marriages in the diocese of London.

(d) The Vicar-General's Office, I, The Sanctuary, London, S.W.i. This licence may be used throughout England, except in the diocese of York.

(e) The Registry, Chancery Court of York, Minster Yard, York. This Licence may be used in the diocese of York.

(f) The Bishop's Registry Office, situated in every cathedral town. This licence may be used only in the diocese of issue.

Application must be made by one of the parties about to be married: no instructions can be received from anyone else. The licence is valid for three months from the date of issue.

bishops' registry offices

Bishops’ Registry Offices may be found in each of the following cathedral towns:

Bath
Birmingham
Blackburn
Bradford
Bristol
Carlisle
Chester
Chichester
Coventry
Derby
Durham
Ely
Exeter

Gloucester
Guildford
Hereford
Leicester
Lichfield
Lincoln
Liverpool
Manchester
Newcastle
Norwich

Oxford
Peterborough
Ripon
Rochester
St. Alban’s
St. Edmondsbury
Ipswich
Sodor, Isle of Man
Southwark
Southwell
Trur
Wakefield
Winchester
Worcester
York

Special Licences.—These are issued from the Faculty Office, I, The Sanctuary, Westminster, S.W.i, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who will not grant such a licence unless he is satisfied that there is a good reason why the ordinary methods of solemnization cannot be used.

A Special Licence is what might be called an emergency licence. The Pope gave a dispensation to the Archbishop of Canterbury to grant this licence many centuries ago. Where such a licence is granted the marriage may take place in an unlicensed church or chapel or in a hospital or sick room. Marriages in St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey or the chapel of Buckingham Palace are by Special Licence because these buildings are not licensed for marriages. The fee is

WEDDING AT A REGISTER OFFICE

If the bride does not wish to marry in a church, the ceremony may take place in a register office.

It will be necessary for one or both parties to call on the Superintendent Registrar (or the Registrar of Births and Deaths, or of Marriages), who will arrange the ceremony either by certificate or by licence.

A marriage at a register office takes place in the presence of the Registrar of Marriages or his deputy.

By Certificate.—A form must be filled in by one of the parties, giving their names, their dwelling places, their ages, length of residence and the place at which the wedding is to take place.

A declaration, stating that there is no legal objection to the wedding, and that (in the case of minors) the consent of the parents has been obtained, must be signed. Any person making a false declaration renders himself or herself liable to prosecution for perjury. Both parties must have lived in the area controlled by the registrar for seven days prior to the application.

Should the parties live in areas controlled by different registrars, the declarations must be made before their respec­tive registrars, and they must have lived in the areas concerned for seven days prior to their applications.

If only one party has fulfilled the residential qualification, he or she must give the notice, and the other party must be living in England or Wales when the notice is given.

Providing that the Superintendent Registrar is satisfied with the information given, he will make an entry in his notice book, and will issue the certificate for the marriage twenty-one days later. The ceremony may then take place at any time within three calendar months from the date of the entry in the notice book.

By Licence.—The residential qualifications are different from those necessary for a marriage by certificate, although a similar declaration must be made and signed. In the case of a licence, only one party need visit the registrar to make the arrangements, whether or not they live in different districts, but this party must have lived in the area for fifteen days before the application.

Provided that the Superintendent Registrar is satisfied with the information given, he will make an entry in his notice book, and will issue the licence one clear day after. The Licence will be valid for three calendar months from the date of entry of the notice, but Sundays, Christmas Day and Good Friday are not included.

Charges.—Legal Charges for a marriage at a registrar's office are:

By certificate                                                                14s.    3d.
(If the   parties   live   in   different districts)                   17d.    3d.
By licence                                                                    £3   6s.   yd.

In the case of a marriage by certificate, the certificate issued by the registrar when both parties live in the same district, or the certificates issued by the two registrars when the parties live in different districts, must be handed to the registrar prior to the ceremony.

In the case of a marriage by licence, the certificate and licence issued by the Registrar in whose district the notice was given, must be handed to the Registrar prior to the ceremony. At least two witnesses must be present at the ceremony, and they must sign their names as witnesses in both cases. They need not be acquainted with one another, or with the couple.

A wedding ring may be used at a register office wedding, and is used almost universally.

A couple who have been married at a register office, may go through a religious ceremony at a church if the clergyman consents and if they wish, on producing a certificate of the register office wedding. The ceremony is not entered as a marriage in the register books of the church or chapel.

A divorced person must produce the decree of divorce when he or she wishes to remarry.

Though the law of the State allows the remarriage of divorced people the church authorities have forbidden it. No clergyman of the Church of England or of the Church of Wales can be compelled to solemnize the marriage of any person whose former marriage has been dissolved otherwise than by death or permit the marriage to be solemnized in the church of which he is minister.

A person who has been through a form of marriage and subsequently has been granted a decree of nullity in respect of it should produce the decree to the clergyman as evidence of his freedom to marry in church. He or she is regarded as unmarried.

No divorced person may remarry until the "decree absolute" has been granted. This decree must be applied for by the successful petitioner six weeks after the issue of the "decree nisi".

MARRIAGES IN SCOTLAND

Scottish law provides that a youth or girl of and over the age of sixteen may marry without the consent of parents or guardians. Scottish marriages can be regular or "irregular ".

Regular Marriages

A regular marriage is celebrated by a minister or registrar after due notice has been given by the publication of banns or publication by the registrar.
One party must have resided in the registration district for a minimum of 15 days before the ceremony, which must be performed in the presence of two witnesses.

Proclamation is made by banns or notice by a registrar. Officially, banns must be proclaimed three times, but custom decrees that proclamation on one Sunday is enough. Banns must be proclaimed in the parish churches of both parties.

Notices of banns are received by the Clerk of the Kirk Session of the Parish, who issues certificates of proclamation. His fee must not exceed 2s. 6d. The certificate of procla­mation is only valid for three months.

The Registrar posts a notice in a conspicuous place on the outer wall of his office, and such posting is reckoned to be equivalent to the proclamation of banns. A minister of the Church of Scotland is not obliged to celebrate a marriage not preceded by banns. The notice is exhibited for seven con­secutive days, during which any person may lodge an objec­tion to the marriage.

Providing no objections are lodged, the registrar issues a certificate, the fee for which is 2s. 6d. This certificate of publication is valid for three months only.

After the certificate of due publication is obtained, the marriage takes place in the presence of the Registrar and two witnesses of sixteen years of age or more.

Irregular Marriages

The Marriage (Scotland) Act, 1939, prohibited the various kinds of irregular marriage formerly recognized, with one exception. Marriage by co-habitation and habit and repute (i.e. where couples live together consistently as husband and wife and are held to be such locally) is still recognized. Such a marriage can be registered after a decree of declaration of marriage has been obtained from the Court of Session.

Void Marriages

Marriages in Scotland may be rendered null and void by:

1. Age, if either party is under the age of 16.
2. Forbidden marriages. If the parties are within the prohibited decrees of relationship.
3. Subsisting previous marriage.
4. Impotency.
5. Non-residence—if one or other party has not com­plied with the legal requirement of prior residence.

Divorced Parties

The Scottish decree of divorce is absolute from the time that a divorce is granted. This means that parties divorced under Scottish law are free to remarry immediately.

MARRIAGES  OF BRITISH  SUBJECTS ABROAD

The marriage of British subjects abroad is only valid in the United Kingdom when solemnized in a similar way to marriages in Britain.

The legality of such a wedding is dependent upon the provisions of the Foreign Marriages Act of 1892, and the Orders in Council of 1913.

Only one party need be a British subject.

It is always advisable in such cases to consult the nearest British Embassy, Legation or Consulate.

FOREIGN MARRIAGES

In the past, a woman who was born a British subject lost her British nationality on marrying a man of foreign nation­ality. Conversely, a woman of foreign nationality became a British subject automatically on marrying a man of British nationality.

However, under the British Nationality Act of 1948, provisions were made which secured that a British woman did not lose her British nationality by reason of her marriage to a foreign national, and similarly, an alien woman who marries a British subject only acquires British nationality by registration.

NAVAL MARRIAGES

A special Act of Parliament was passed in 1908, to allow for the special difficulties arising where the bridegroom (and now, presumably the bride!) is a serving member of the Royal Navy.

If the Church of England ceremony is to be used, the chaplain or commanding officer must publish the banns on board the ship on three successive Sundays, and he may then issue a certificate of publication of banns. It is also necessary to publish the banns in the church in which the marriage is to take place.

If the marriage is to take place at a register office or in a Nonconformist chapel, the bridegroom or bride must give notice to his or her commanding officer, who, after the lapse of twenty-one clear days, can issue a certificate for the marriage. Notice must be given in the usual way to a regis­trar in the district in which the other party lives.

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