Marriages

It sets out the rules that govern how to arrange to be married and how to make sure it is a valid marriage. Although the law is not Church Law, it is something the Registry can advise about in detail. More recently, the Church made some changes for its own procedures (see below), and these are also often the subject of Registry advice.

It is essential that the appropriate legal preliminary to a marriage is completed before the wedding takes place. All preliminaries are ways of showing that one of the parties has established the right to be married in the particular church and that neither of them is prevented from marrying at all (such as by being under age or already married) and completing a proper preliminary is essential to make a marriage possible and legally effective. The most usual preliminary is by the calling of Banns, where both the parties live in parishes in England and Wales.

If that is not the case, or because something has gone wrong in the Banns process, in most circumstances a Common Licence can be issued instead. One of the parties swears an Affidavit, either before a local member of clergy appointed by the Chancellor for the purpose (called a “surrogate”)or before the Registrar or Deputy Registrar. The Affidavit confirms the way in which the parties are entitled to be married in the church in question, and because it is made under Oath it is illegal if the person making it does not believe the contents to be true. The Licence – which is really a permission the Bishop gives through his Chancellor - is then issued at the Registry.

Although in emergency the issue of a Common Licence can be done at very short notice, it causes serious distress and inconvenience. It would, of course, help to avoid this if parishes put in place a procedure for checking that the necessary preliminary has been arranged a couple of weeks or so before the wedding. However, if there is found to be a problem at, for example, the rehearsal the night before the wedding, then please contact the Registry straight away.

In a few cases, an Archbishop's Licence is needed, and the Registry can advise about this and put enquirers in contact with the Faculty Office for further advice and application forms. If an Archbishop's Licence is urgently required, the Faculty Office can, in an emergency, deal with these in a very few days. The telephone number for that office is 020 7222 5381, and the office is open from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm on weekdays. 

The Registry staff are always happy to answer queries about any aspect of the legalities of church weddings, so if you need any advice please contact us.

Information regarding the new marriage law

Since 1 October 2008 it has been possible for a wider range of people to claim the right to be married in any specific parish church.  A person who can show a “qualifying connection” with a parish will be entitled to be married in its church whether by banns or by common licence as if, under the present law, they had been resident in the parish or on the electoral roll of the church. This entitlement is a legal right of the person with the connection, and as long as the other party is not personally prevented from marrying at all, that other does not have to show any connection with the church in question or any other church in order to be party to a valid marriage there.

Full details of the forms of qualifying connection can be found on the Church of England website by going to “Weddings” and then to the “frequently asked questions” section, where there is a link to the new law under the question “Where can I get married?”.  In summary, a qualifying connection will be that the person is or has previously been connected with the church or parish either directly or through a member of his or her family.  Further details and guidance are available from the Registry.

The full guidance from the House of Bishops is to be found on the Church of England website here, or by entering Marriage Measure into the search engine on the www.cofe.anglican.org website. This will give access to the full House of Bishops Marriage Measure 2008 Guidance document, to frequently asked Q&A, and also the Marriage Measure Welcome Form, which acts as a detailed check list for connection as well as a basic administrative record.

The Welcome Form shows that, if either of the applicants can answer “yes” to any of the following questions, they will be likely to be able to be married in the church.

• Were you baptised in the parish?
• Is there a record of your confirmation in the record book of the parish?
• Have you lived in the parish for at least six months at any time?
• Have you habitually attended public worship in the parish for at least six months at any time?
• Do your parents currently live in the parish?
• Have your parents previously lived in the parish for at least six months at any time?
• Have your parents habitually attended public worship in the parish for at least six months at any time?
• Were your parents married in the parish?
• Were your grandparents married in the parish?

There are still many questions about these recent changes, and the Registry will be pleased to help to resolve any uncertainties. Questions should always be raised as soon as possible to avoid difficulties.

Contact: Registry
Email: registry@salisbury.anglican.org
Tel: 01722 411141
Fax: 01722 411566