When you and your partner are looking to join your lives together in front of family and friends, aka your wedding, there are quite a few things to consider. Who will be your bridesmaids and groomsmen? What flowers will decorate the tables? Which song will you share your first dance as a married couple to? However, as pressing as these questions may soon become, there’s one thing that stands out above all else when it comes to getting married. And that’s choosing the venue.
As many people around the world are looking for something a little different to the typical church wedding, the question of where else you can get married becomes more common.
Where Can You Get Married?
Unfortunately in 2023, it isn’t possible to just get married anywhere you want. While there are petitions and movements in order to overturn the Marriage Act of 1836, it isn’t currently an option to get married in your home or in a park for example. But that doesn’t mean that you have limited options. In fact, there are a great many places where you can get married.
A legal marriage can take place in:
A Register Office
Any premise approved by the local authority (hotels etc.)
A church of the Church of England or a Church in Wales
A synagogue or private place (if both partners are Jewish)
A Meeting House where both partners are a member of or associated with the Society
Any registered religious building in England or Wales
The home of one of the partners if that partner is housebound or detained
A hospital if one of the partners is seriously ill and not expected to recover
A licensed naval, military or air force chapel
The vast majority of weddings will take place in either a Register Office, a premise approved by a local authority or a church/registered religious building. Interestingly, since 1992, religious ceremonies have fallen below civil ceremonies as more and more people opt for a non-religious wedding. Already in 2017, only 23% of weddings took place were religious ceremonies and that number has fallen since. However, a church wedding is still more than viable for anyone who would prefer a religious ceremony.
How to Find an Approved Premise to Get Married In
Assuming you’re not looking for a religious ceremony but would rather choose a neutral venue, you need to know how to find one. Unfortunately, the application to be able to host a wedding is the responsibility of the premise or venue, not the couple. There are however a few criteria that premises looking to obtain a licence to host weddings should follow.
No open-air venues (beaches or golf courses for example)
No aerial vehicles (hot air balloons or aeroplanes)
Typically must be a permanently built structure
Stately homes, hotels or civic buildings are often considered suitable
Private homes will not be approved
The premise must be regularly open to members of the public
On occasion, permanently moored boats will be considered suitable
Fortunately, you don’t have to travel around checking venues one by one. There will be a publicly available list available at your local town hall or on gov.uk. It’s also possible to search online for suitable venues as they will already know if they have a licence to host weddings.
How High Trenhouse Can Help
At High Trenhouse, we’ve been hosting events for over 40 years and received our marriage licence in 2022. Since then we have hosted a number of beautiful weddings in our picturesque venue in the stunning Yorkshire Dales. In addition to having 21 bedrooms and two fully stocked bars for your wedding, we have a wedding coordinator and let’s not forget our spa.
If you’d like to learn more about our venue, get in touch today.