Restrictions lifted on wedding times

Weddings will now be able to take place at any time of the day or night in England and Wales after a change to regulations.

Until now, couples could only register their marriages or civil partnerships between the hours of 08:00 and 18:00.

The change has been brought in under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, although couples wanting to wed outside the traditional hours will still have to give 15 days’ notice.

According to the BBC, Register General Sarah Rapson said the change in hours would "allow people to make the day unique to them".

Scotland already allows couples to wed at any time.

The BBC reports that local authorities and religious groups will not be compelled to conduct marriages outside the traditional hours.
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