---
title:  England Wales Wedding Law Reform 2026, Marry at Home or on a Cruise Ship 
description: The government has launched what it calls the biggest overhaul of wedding law since the 19th century, proposing to let couples marry almost anywhere a regist...
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-07-23T10:00:00.000Z
updated: 2026-07-23T10:06:22.588Z
canonical: https://richwoman.co/article/england-wales-wedding-law-reform-2026-marry-at-home-or-on-a-cruise-ship
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-bride-and-groom-sharing-a-kiss-at-their-outdoor-spring-weddi-31953097.jpg
categories: Relationships
content_type: News
region: United Kingdom
publication: Rich Woman Magazine
access: members
schema_type: Article
---

On Thursday 16 July, the UK government launched a public consultation it is calling the biggest shake-up to wedding law in almost 200 years, proposing to let couples in England and Wales marry in almost any location a registered officiant is willing to approve, a private home, a pub, a beach, a forest, a castle, a canal boat, or a cruise ship in international waters.

The law currently governing where a couple can legally marry dates back to 1836. Around 470,000 couples marry in England and Wales each year, and under existing rules, a civil ceremony still has to take place inside a licensed building or its approved grounds. A wedding on an actual beach is illegal unless that beach happens to fall within a licensed venue's boundary. The consultation, running for ten weeks until 24 September, proposes to strip that requirement out almost entirely.

## The real change is what gets regulated

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