Wedding Law Reform Consultation: What Wedding Businesses Need to Know

Alison Hargreaves

Hosting and moderating the discussion.

Samantha Gilchrist

Samantha Gilchrist is CEO of The Gilchrist Collection, bringing the perspective of a multi-venue owner on the practical implications of the proposed wedding law reforms for venues and couples.

Elaine Hughes

Elaine Hughes is a CAE-accredited Luxury Accessibility Experience Strategist and founder of The Inclusive Wedding Company, bringing expert insight into accessibility and inclusion within the proposed wedding law reforms.

Zadie Ward

Zadie Ward is an independent wedding celebrant trained by Humanists UK, bringing practical insight into bespoke ceremonies and the role of celebrants within the proposed reforms.

Vim Ziyambe

Vim Ziyambe is an award-winning independent celebrant and former Deputy Superintendent Registrar, bringing expert insight into the current marriage system and the future of wedding law reform.

Zadie Ward

As a modern wedding celebrant working with couples across the UK, I’d like to speak about why these reforms matter beyond the wedding industry. We’re living in an experience era where people value connection, authenticity and shared moments more than ever before. Couples increasingly want a ceremony that reflects who they are, welcomes modern and blended families, celebrates different cultures and creates an experience that their guests genuinely feel part of. Yet the law still forces many couples to separate the legal act of getting married from the meaningful ceremony they actually want. I’d like to talk about how these reforms are less about changing marriage itself and more about giving couples informed choice, allowing one meaningful ceremony instead of two, and bringing the law into line with how people already choose to celebrate one of the biggest moments of their lives, while maintaining robust standards and accountability.

Jennifer Patrice

As wedding suppliers, we love that every couple is unique, but our current wedding laws don’t always allow them to celebrate their day in a way that truly reflects them. This consultation is a great opportunity for the law to be modernised, giving couples greater choice whilst preserving the significance, dignity and legal protections of marriage.

Vim Ziyambe

It’s a much bigger conversation about creating a modern, officiant-based system that gives couples greater choice while preserving the dignity, legal significance and safeguards that marriage deserves.

I genuinely believe I could offer a balanced and informed perspective because I’ve lived both sides of the profession. I understand the responsibilities and safeguards of the registration service, and I also spend every day working with engaged couples, hearing what they value most and where they find the current system frustrating.

More than anything, I think couples need someone who can explain these proposals in plain English. Many won’t even realise this consultation is happening or that they have the opportunity to influence the future of marriage law in England and Wales.

Sonal Dave

As an Independent Celebrant, who predominantly works with multicultural, interfaith, no religion, spiritual couples, the current marriage law means that they need to do the legal marriage, and then either have two cultural ceremonies or the one multicultural ceremony where I blend their cultures including rituals (both religious and non-religious), readings, their love story, personal vows, live music, and more. This means two ceremonies, extra cost and extra admin.

The consultation proposes changing the current regulation of a building where the wedding takes place to the Officiant conducting the wedding ceremony. The consultation has specifically proposed independent celebrants as one of the groups who could conduct legally binding weddings (that’s me).

If this happens, this means, that the ceremony I conduct for my couples could be the legal wedding

Couples can choose where they want to marry. From castles to boats, the place they had their first date or the proposal took place, as well as hotels, and other venues.