Laws for Getting Married in the UK

When you have decided that you have found your significant other, you will want to know all the laws that apply to you taking that person to be your lawful spouse in the United Kingdom. There are some interesting laws that apply to everything from your engagement to the type of ceremony that you have when you are about to get married.

When you are asked to get married in some countries you will find that the engagement is like a verbal contract, in which your future spouse has promised that they will take your hand in marriage, however this is not so if you live in the UK. You can’t sue your mate if he or she decides that they have had a change of heart and now no longer want to marry you.

There are also laws about getting married; one that stands out the most is that no one can force you into married. Your parents can’t make you get married because you are pregnant, and your father can’t force him to marry him for that reason either. You must be 16 years of age or older in order to get married in the UK even if you have parental consent. You can’t get married if you are already married. You can’t marry your first cousin, or any really close relatives, and lastly you will need two people to witness you and your mates wedding.

While you can’t personally marry two people in the UK, they will recognize your right to stay married if you got married in an area that recognizes those types of marriages. Otherwise bigamy is illegal in the UK.

You can change your name if you are a woman, but it is not a requirement, however you can use your last name and that of your husband to create a hyphenated name such as Johnson-Stevens.

In the UK same sex marriages are not recognized as a marriage but they are called civil unions or partnerships which give the couple all of the rights afforded to a couple who are actually married.

You must be married by someone who is legally allowed to marry you and to have that person register your wedding in the particular district that you were married in. This means that you may be married in the Registry Office, or you can get married in any church throughout the UK as long as the person who married is a Registrar and can register the nuptials in the registry.