Dear Friends,
I offer advice about Quaker Weddings and marriage, so the enquiry below is one on which I’d like to offer my thoughts.
In England and Wales, marriages have to take place in buildings registered for marriages – unless they are Quaker weddings or Jewish weddings.
Quaker Meeting Houses are not registered for marriages, so civil weddings or other church weddings are not possible in Quaker Meeting Houses. There
are also complex regulations about civil marriages not taking place in religious venues.
Informal celebrations that are not formal weddings are possible in a Quaker Meeting House, but that is a lettings issue.
Quote from Handbook for Registering Officers (access from
www.quaker.org.uk/ro )
15. Non-Quaker weddings or civil partnerships in Quaker meeting houses
Registering officers may be asked for advice when a local meeting receives a request to hold a non-Quaker wedding in a meeting house. This request may, for example,
come from a group which hires the meeting house. In England and Wales other groups and organisations cannot hold a wedding in a Quaker meeting house as meeting houses are not registered for marriages or civil partnerships. If a Meeting House is hired out to
a church or other faith group for their worship services, then there may be an enquiry from that group about the Quaker Meeting House being used for religious weddings. If your meeting house is asked to consider this, then please contact appropriate Yearly
Meeting staff before taking any action. In England or Wales, this would generally only be possible if the Meeting House was registered as a place where marriages could take place. It is possible for a Meeting House to be used as a venue for a wedding reception
or for non-official marriage ceremonies, where the actual marriage is going to be a civil marriage or civil partnership taking place at a different venue. This becomes a lettings issue, but it is important that as far as possible it is made clear that such
an event is not a legal wedding or civil partnership.
I’d be happy to respond directly if Friends have questions on specific issues.
Yours, in Friendship (and fully clothed)
Michael
Michael S Booth
Church Government Adviser
Quaker Church Affairs
he/him
I generally work Monday-Thursday
Quakers in Britain
020 7663 1023 (direct)
michaelsb@quaker.org.uk |
www.quaker.org.uk
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From: Judi Brill <judibrill@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2024 11:10 AM
To: Wardenship Egroup <wardenship@lists.quaker.eu.org>
Cc: Plymouth, LQM <house.quaker@googlemail.com>
Subject: [wardenship] Re: Naturalist wedding enquiry
Hi Esther
Curiously, I was actually speaking with someone on the phone who had called me with the same enquiry for a Naturist Wedding in August when your message arrived!
The call came from a withheld number and the caller had quite a pronounced speech impediment. I told him we would be happy to consider a booking for a Naturist Wedding. After he had asked me a number of questions about my personal experience
of naturism I asked him if it was relevant to know about my personal involvement, if any. He immediately hung up and hasn’t called back.
In friendship
Judi
Judi Brill
Wardenship Egroup Administrator
Meeting House Flat
300 Gloucester Road
Horfield
Bristol
BS7 8PDs
///palace.wounds.fill
Tel: 0117 942 9142
Mob: 07967 558615