This week those lovely boys at I am Staggered at campaigning for couples to get married where they like. It is a shame when you have a fabulous idea like getting married in an idyllic place that means a great deal to each of you, such as a beach, but legally you are restricted. There are ways around it, like getting married in a registry office first then hiring a wedding celebrant to marry you in your idyllic place. Check out what Staggered say and see if you want to join their campaign.
One of the things that often surprises readers and bloggers over at Staggered (it’s the UK’s leading men’s wedding website don’t you know) is that they can’t get married anywhere they would like. Yes, there’s some great venues and churches but there are strict and stupid restrictions that say where you can’t get married.
When the rules regarding ceremonies were changed in 1995 by The Marriages (Approved Premises) Regulations it meant an explosion in the number of intriguing and exciting places that were allowed to hold weddings. This was brilliant because it meant that couples could get one step closer to finding somewhere that truly reflected them to hold their most important celebration.
Unfortunately, in the UK outmoded and pointless legislation still exists that needlessly restricts where people can get married and badly damages British business.
Want to hear something seriously outdated?
- Weddings must take place between 8am and 6pm
- Wedding venues must have a roof
- Wedding venues must be moored to their foundations
What. The. Heck.
Now all of this might sound like a bit of silliness, but there’s actually a very serious, multi-million point to it all. Currently, 18% of British couples are choosing to marry abroad. Often the dream that is sold to these couples – and the one that they feel reflects them – is to marry on a beach. Maybe some of them would choose to marry in the UK if they could marry on a British beach – but you can’t marry on a beach here because it doesn’t have a fecking roof.
There is something seriously wrong going on here. In an era when the government are supposed to be supporting British business, they are allowing an entire industry to wither on the vine for the sake of not tweaking a few lines of antiquated regulations. We’ve looked at this from every angle and there’s no sensible reason why this shouldn’t be changed immediately. If you live in a coastal area and think your MP would like to bring more business to your constituency, get them to be a hero and raise this in Parliament – we demand to know – why can’t you have a beach wedding?
If you would like to register your views, please consider adding your virtual signature to The Any Campaign . For more information see http://www.theanycampaign.co.uk/ – they’re currently 300 signatures off their target of 1000…
Until next week, happy planning.
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