When can I get married?

Jul 22, 2019
outdoor civil wedding

Apparently, one of the first concerns of a couple is when they can get married.

By that I mean what day of the week or season they can marry in this country. Not the legal age for marriage.

Full religious

And let’s leave full religious weddings out of the mix. Just to say that Christian weddings will usually not take place on Sundays or Jewish ones on Saturdays. They may be possible on certain festivals, and not on others. Better not to get into all that!

Suffice it to say that your best bet is to approach your minister individually!

Register Office

If you’re solely marrying at a Register Office, you must make an appointment. The two of you need to go down, along with two witnesses, for the ceremony. This will normally be on a working day (except on a Bank Holiday).

By arrangement, the registrars will come out to certain venues, provided certain criteria are met and extra fees are paid. This will often include weekends.

Such weddings have to take place between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Alternative Ceremonies

Any other ceremonies can be held at your discretion. If you are using a venue (such as a hotel, castle, stone circle), as long as you meet the venue’s conditions and you pay them (and any other suppliers, not least, the civil celebrant!), you have free choice. 

You will find that a public holiday will be a more expensive time for you, because staff have to be paid extra. You may also find that certain holidays can cause problems with guests. You could theoretically hold your wedding on Christmas Day, but that would create a dilemma for many potential attendees, especially families. It might also be difficult for venues to recruit staff then, or for suppliers to come, as there would be no public transport. You might lose out big time!

If booking during the summer holidays, give guests plenty of notice (before they book their holidays!).

Because Summer is a popular time for weddings, prices can be higher than at unfashionable times. Similarly, if you book your event for morning or afternoon, you may be able to get your venue to budge on their price.

Avoid Valentine’s Day too, if you want to cut costs.

Finally, returning to the day of the wedding, Friday and, in particular, Saturday tend to be dearest. Wednesdays, say, may be cheaper, but, if it was a destination wedding, people would have to take a lot of time off work.

Summing up

There is considerable flexibility (if you do your homework). It is a fallacy that you have to marry at the weekend, although that remains the most popular time.

Take into consideration the issues mentioned above, but feel free to make your own decision. Your big day must be when you want it!