Thousands of couples dreaming of a wedding will find more churches to choose from after 1 October when the new Church of England Marriage Measure comes into effect.
The Marriage Measure completed its parliamentary process last month, making it possible for bishops to issue the official guidance to clergy on how the new rules, published today, will work.
Existing law establishes a right for a couple to marry in the Church of England in the parish church where one or both of them live, whether they are baptised or not, and whether they are churchgoers are not. To marry in any other parish requires a special licence or six months of regular attendance followed by entry on the local church electoral roll.
But new laws, initiated by the Church of England and now approved by Parliament, will add to this right of residency, making it just as easy for couples to marry in a church where they have a family or other special connection, even if they don't live there.
The new rules mean that the Church of England's network of 16,000 churches can offer a wider wedding welcome than at any time in the Church's history.
Couples planning a wedding for this autumn will be able to make plans now, knowing that the new legislation will be in force, whilst clergy have the summer to find out exactly how the changes will take effect.
The General Synod decided that the existing laws were too restrictive in a mobile society and took the initiative to change them last July. Synod wanted churches all over England to be free to celebrate more weddings and support more marriages.
