Couples could say ‘I do’ in back garden in sweeping changes to marriage laws

COUPLES could be allowed to get married in their back garden for the first time under a shake-up of 180-year-old marriage licensing laws.

Under the current rules, which have been largely unchanged since 1836, civil ceremonies in England and Wales cannot be held in the open air or under a marquee.

Hotels, pubs and restaurants that hold licences for weddings have to identify a specific room where the ceremony takes place.

The licence holder must also make sure that no food or alcoholic drinks are sold or consumed in the specific area one hour before and during the ceremony.

However, a Law Commission review will consider whether these rules should be relaxed to let more hotels, restaurants and pubs hold weddings. This could result in weddings held in marquees or in gardens for the first time south of the Scottish border. The reforms could allow couples to get married outside, as long as the celebrant deems the space to be “appropriately dignified”, a government source said.

The Government is hoping that making it easier to license a venue will bring down the costs of holding a wedding – currently running at between £20,000 and £30,000, including £4,500 for venue hire.

An HM Treasury spokesman said: “Some people who want to get married are put off by the expense. Relaxing restrictions would make it cheaper and simpler for couples to get married, potentially supporting more people to get married.”

Official figures show there were 245,500 marriages in 2015, and 7,500 venues approved for civil ceremonies.

The Rev Martin Kettle, policy adviser in the Church of England’s mission and public affairs division, said: “The Church of England’s recent research confirms other findings that many young people still hold a high view of marriage. They want to take the vows seriously, and to make them in a place which is special. Costs do not need to be prohibitive, especially in a church wedding.

“If new proposals are made, we shall look at them from the standpoint of Christian faith and the conviction that marriage is an important institution.

“We are keen to retain what is good in those traditions without holding out for anything which is genuinely outdated.”

Separately, proposed legislation to extend civil partnerships to oppositesex couples has cleared the Commons despite lacking government support. Penny Mordaunt, a women and equalities minister, said there were a “number of questions” about making the changes.

She said: “The changes needed to effect the greater equality we wish to see are not all straightforward. There are a number of questions that arise, specifically about opening civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples for the first time, on which we will need to consult.”