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In England and Wales, the law requires all marriages to be registered once they have taken place; the system for registering marriages is currently paper-based and prescribed particulars to be registered for a marriage include details of the father but not the mother of each of the parties to the marriage.
Calls have been made, both inside and outside of Parliament, for the law to be changed to enable the details of both parents of the parties to the marriage to be included on marriage certificates.
Here at County Wedding Magazines HQ we think it's a great step forward in looking at changing some of the more outdated traditions of weddings and marriages and making them more relevant and reflective of the 21st century.
Subject to the approval of draft regulations which have been laid before Parliament, the Government intends that a new system of marriage registration will be implemented on 4 May 2021 and that the particulars to be registered for a marriage will be updated.
Until now, the document only included the names of the fathers of the couple, but a change to the Marriage Act means both parents will be included.
Marriages will also be recorded electronically, rather than written in a registry book, as part of the biggest changes to the system since 1837.
The Government intends that guidance for couples getting married will be published on the Gov.UK website before the new system is introduced.
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