Alexandra Funnell
Co-Head of Department, Partner
The government has opened a public consultation on wedding law reform in England and Wales, and it could change who is allowed to marry you and where the ceremony can legally take place. The consultation is called Tying the Knot. It opened on 16 July 2026 and closes at 11:59am on 24 September 2026.
Nothing has changed yet. The rules that applied last month still apply today. The direction is clear enough to be worth understanding, though, particularly if you are planning a wedding for 2027 or beyond.
The framework governing weddings in England and Wales is old. Much of it sits in the Marriage Act 1949 and parts of the system it created reach back into the 18th and 19th centuries. The result is a set of rules that apply differently depending on your religion or belief, which was one of the central criticisms made by the Law Commission in its 2022 report, Celebrating Marriage: A New Weddings Law. The Commission found the law to be inefficient, unfair and needlessly restrictive. It made 57 recommendations for change.
In practice the current position is fairly simple. A legal marriage has to take place at a register office, at approved premises such as a licensed hotel or wedding venue, or at a place of worship. Outdoor ceremonies became possible in 2021, but only within the grounds of approved premises. Humanist ceremonies and ceremonies led by independent celebrants are not legally binding here, which is why many couples end up holding two: one that satisfies the law and one that means something to them.
The main part of the proposed wedding law reform is a shift away from regulating buildings and towards regulating people. Rather than the venue holding a licence, an authorised officiant would carry legal responsibility for the ceremony. Scotland and Northern Ireland already work this way.
That single change has wide consequences. If the officiant carries the authority, the location matters far less. When the government launched the consultation it pointed to beaches, coastlines, castles and cruise ships as settings that could become legally available. It also opens a route to legal recognition for Humanist weddings and for ceremonies conducted by independent celebrants, which would be a first in England and Wales.
The consultation looks at the administrative side too, including how notice of a marriage is given. The 28 day notice period is expected to stay for safeguarding reasons, though the process around it could move online.
Wedding law reform is still at the consultation stage. No legislation has been passed and none has yet been introduced. If you are marrying in 2026 or 2027 you must still marry at a register office, at approved premises or at a place of worship. A Humanist or celebrant led ceremony on a Sussex beach will not, by itself, make you legally married.
If you have your heart set on a setting that is not currently licensed, the two ceremony approach remains the only route. We would not advise booking anything on the assumption that the law will have moved on by your date.
Weddings are not the only area under review. In June the government published A Fairer End to Relationships, a separate consultation looking at how finances are divided when a marriage ends, at financial provision for couples who live together without marrying and at inheritance where an unmarried partner dies without a Will. We covered it in our legal update on Cohabitation Reform 2026. That consultation closes on 14 August 2026.
One proposal within it will interest anyone about to marry: qualifying nuptial agreements. Pre-nuptial agreements are not automatically binding in England and Wales at present, although a court will usually give one real weight where both people took independent legal advice, disclosed their finances honestly and were under no pressure to sign. The proposal would give agreements meeting set safeguards binding force. If you are marrying and bringing property, a business or children from an earlier relationship into the marriage, a pre-nuptial agreement is worth discussing sooner rather than later.
Similar thinking applies to couples living together with no immediate plans to marry. Our note on cohabitation agreements and declarations of trust sets out where you stand under the law as it is today, and why the idea of a common law marriage remains a myth.
The consultation is open to members of the public as well as to registrars, celebrants, belief organisations and wedding businesses. If you have a view on how weddings should work in this country, you can respond directly through the consultation page on GOV.UK before it closes on 24 September 2026.
We advise couples across East Sussex on pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements and declarations of trust. Our Family Law team works from offices in Eastbourne, Hailsham and Polegate. We regularly see clients from Bexhill, Seaford, Battle, Heathfield, Uckfield and Lewes.
Our Family Department offers a free 30 minute appointment with no obligation, and we will keep reporting on wedding law reform in our Legal Updates as the consultation moves towards legislation.
Please note the above is for information purposes only and is intended to be a short summary. It should not be treated as a comprehensive guide and should not be acted on without qualified legal advice.
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Please note: Hart Reade Solicitors does not undertake Legal Aid work. All legal services provided by the firm are privately funded. If you require advice or representation through Legal Aid, you will need to contact a solicitor or legal adviser who holds a Legal Aid contract.
