Sep 28 2010

The Any Campaign: Campaigning to Legalise Marriage Anytime, Anywhere

“Because LOVE should not be confined by a roof!” Kat, Rock ‘n’ Roll Bride

As you are well aware, we are always on the hunt for fabulous wedding inspiration and love to share our favourite wedding blog treasures. After all, we all secretly daydream about our big day; well I certainly love to let my imagination run away with me…

Surrounded by woodland and a blanket of bluebells, my guests await my arrival, seated on beautiful mismatched painted chairs, adorned with ivory paper flowers. From a few of the closest trees hang huge vintage mirrors in ornate frames, bouncing the golden hour light around us. Ivory petals lay out my path, lifted occasionally by a gentle breeze. Heads turn as I float up the aisle in a backless ivory silk dress with many tiny paper flowers in my hair to match my teardrop bouquet…

My dreams were shattered however when I discovered that open air weddings are not permitted in this country. The law states that a marriage ceremony venue must have a roof, be moored to its foundations, and licensed by the local registrar. There are thousands of gorgeous licensed wedding venues in the country, offering stunning scenery and experienced wedding coordinators to help you plan your special day, and many would love to offer their own beautiful grounds for outdoor ceremonies, especially as they can hold the reception too, and also offer inside space in case the typical English weather rears its head! We live in a beautiful country with breathtaking beaches, ruined castles, parks, mountains and woodland. Why not celebrate this and incorporate these spectacular landscapes into our wedding ceremonies? Perhaps you would like to be married in a venue that it sentimental you, such as your back garden or the home you grew up in. We are teased by photographs from many of these fabulously unique ceremonies on wedding blogs such as Rock ‘n Roll Bride and Wedding Chicks, as in many countries including Ireland and Scotland, it is the registrar that holds the licence not the venue- a system far more suited to modern times.

Further restricting our imaginations when it comes to our wedding day, is a highly outdated law that says that weddings must take place between 8am and 6pm. This rule was drawn up when civil marriages were first introduced in 1837 and it was designed to stop people marrying the wrong partner in the dark in the days before electricity! So my dream of being married in golden hour light (just before sunset) was also quashed.

We have discovered however, that there was a Government White Paper in 2002 proposing to relax these laws, but it was put on the backburner before anything came of it. In 2005 a ‘consultation document’ was published proposing such modernisations, but as yet no timetable has been announced.

The Any Campaign therefore requests your help in bringing this matter back into consideration so that we can all have the wedding of our dreams!

We need at least 1000 British signatures to present our petition to the government, but we would also love to get you thinking about what this law change would mean to you. We would love to feature your ideas on The Any Campaign blog, so if you dream of an outdoor wedding then please tell us about it, and send any images you may have of that ideal place, coz we love pretty pictures!

To sign the petition visit www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/theanycampaign

For more information and outdoor wedding inspiration visit the campaign blog: www.theanycampaign.co.uk

To help spread the word, please join The Any Campaign on Twitter and on Facebook.