Ladies..are you getting married in a public place?

cuthbert_the_octopus

We got married in the Snow Castle in Kemi, Finland.

We had 2 extra randoms at the back for the ceremony. We think that the got locked in when they closed the ice chapel for us.

1 of the photos makes me laugh, you can see the 2 randoms in the background and they are smiling and really happy. Whereas my brother in the foreground looks bored!

Additional randoms, make for a good anecdote!

Incidentally, I didnt notice them during the ceremony, but heard about them afterwards!

chickadee

scotsbob wrote: »

The wedding referred to by the original poster took place in Scotland. I don't know about other parts of the UK but in Scotland there is no requirement for the ceremony to take place in public. Neither is there any requirement for the doors of a church to be left open. Even in England I would be surprsied if that were the case. It is not unusual for people on learning they are terminally ill to be married in hospital or even their own home. I doubt if the public have to be allowed admission.

As far as I know, weddings, civil or otherwise, must take place in a location that can be accessed by the public, not necessarily with the doors wide open, but certainly unlocked. If anyone was to object to the wedding, they must be able to access the ceremony. Similarly, the doors must not be locked so that either the bride or groom is free to leave at any time should they so wish!

I am getting married later this year in the arts centre at a park. I think it will be really sweet to be getting married whilst other people are walking their dogs and kids are playing football nearby. It kind of keeps it 'normal' iykwim.

aliasojo

chickadee wrote: »

I think it will be really sweet to be getting married whilst other people are walking their dogs and kids are playing football nearby. It kind of keeps it 'normal' iykwim.

This just proves it's very much an 'each to their own' type of situation really. Personally I would feel kids playing football nearby would make my day feel much less special....but there again I'm talking as a person who has 3 kids.

IamJen

We are getting married on the beach in just a few weeks. Believe me, if there are any Speedo-clad tourists around, we'll be um "suggesting heartily" that they move along.

scotsbob

chickadee wrote: »

As far as I know, weddings, civil or otherwise, must take place in a location that can be accessed by the public, not necessarily with the doors wide open, but certainly unlocked. If anyone was to object to the wedding, they must be able to access the ceremony. Similarly, the doors must not be locked so that either the bride or groom is free to leave at any time should they so wish!

As an ex clergyman I can assure you that marriage ceremonies are private, members of the public have no right of access.

As to keeping the doors open I have never heard of this before, I would be interested to see your reference for this.

purplehibiscus

scotsbob wrote: »

As an ex clergyman I can assure you that marriage ceremonies are private, members of the public have no right of access.

As to keeping the doors open I have never heard of this before, I would be interested to see your reference for this.

I think it must be different in Scotland then as in England there has to be public access for anyone to object else it would be a bit pointless asking if you could lock the doors to keep them out!

The relevant bit of UK statute is in the 1949 Marriage Act: "a marriage solemnized in a registered building shall be solemnized with open doors in the presence of two or more witnesses...."

Horace

scotsbob wrote: »

It is not unusual for people on learning they are terminally ill to be married in hospital or even their own home. I doubt if the public have to be allowed admission.

People have to get a special licence for that and different rules apply. However, if you got married in the hospital chapel then that would have to be open to the public because it is a religious sanctuary and the public have a right to be there. Getting married in your bed or at home is entirely different.

MsChazzer

purplehibiscus wrote: »

I think it must be different in Scotland then as in England there has to be public access for anyone to object else it would be a bit pointless asking if you could lock the doors to keep them out!

The relevant bit of UK statute is in the 1949 Marriage Act: "a marriage solemnized in a registered building shall be solemnized with open doors in the presence of two or more witnesses...."

In Scotland we can get married wherever we like (provided the person conducting the ceremony feels that it is an appropriate place) by religious leaders and Humanist celebrants, and that includes our own homes.

Civil ceremonies can only take place in approved venues, doesn't seem to be anything about open doors in the Marriage (Scotland) Act 2002 or on the General Register Office site.

scotsbob

purplehibiscus wrote: »

I think it must be different in Scotland then as in England there has to be public access for anyone to object else it would be a bit pointless asking if you could lock the doors to keep them out!

The relevant bit of UK statute is in the 1949 Marriage Act: "a marriage solemnized in a registered building shall be solemnized with open doors in the presence of two or more witnesses...."

Yes it is different, I refer you back to my first post in this thread and to the original post. The marriage referred to did indeed take place in Scotland.