We are delighted that it has been announced that outdoor non-religious wedding ceremonies will continue to be legal after April!
Prior to the pandemic, the rule was that you had to complete certain parts of a wedding ceremony in a licensed room, within a building which holds a wedding license. Permanent outdoor structures which had been licensed were also permitted so some outdoor ceremonies could take place but not all.
During the pandemic, once weddings were permitted to go ahead with more relaxed restrictions, the above rule was also relaxed to allow more people to attend weddings in a socially distanced manner with a full outdoors wedding ceremony permitted (within the grounds of a licensed building).
This was to be reviewed in April and the wedding industry were waiting with bated breath as to what the outcome would be! We’re delighted that as of this morning, it was announced that weddings can continue this way past April, meaning venues and couples can hold the full legal ceremony outside without the requirements for a pemanent structure!! This is brilliant news will provide so much flexibility and choice for wedding couples.
Justice minister Tom Pursglove said: “A wedding is one of the most important days in a person’s life and it is right that couples should have greater choice in how they celebrate their special occasion. These reforms will allow couples to hold more personalised ceremonies and provide a welcome boost for the wedding sector.”
And because you know we love a statistic…..a government consultation found that 96% of respondents were in favour of the changes being made permanent! Overwhelming support for outside weddings!
England & Wales – source BBC news
Weddings on the Mind 