Ceremonies at religious buildings
When you can marry at a religious venue
You are able to marry at a place of religious worship as follows:
- in the district where one of you lives, or
- outside the district in which you live, but which one of you uses as your usual place of worship.
Church of England and Wales
You will need to contact the church directly. In most cases they will take care of everything for you.
Places of religious worship registered for marriage
Check with your venue that they have someone who is authorised to register the ceremony.
You will need to book an appointment to give notice once you have provisionally booked your ceremony. See our Giving notice page.
If you are marrying outside the district in which you live, in a church or registered building that is not your usual place of worship, you may need to set up residency in that area.
If you have any questions, complete our general enquiries form.
Same sex marriage or civil partnership in religious venues
Places of religious worship have to register separately to enable them to perform same-sex marriage or civil partnerships. You will need to check with the place of worship that they are able to perform the ceremony.
Information regarding the difference between marriage and civil partnership is available on our Marriage and civil partnerships page.