A Yorkshire-based celebrant and educator who has spent more than 30 years helping couples and families create meaningful ceremonies has been at the centre of one of the biggest proposed changes to marriage law in England and Wales. Stuart Morris joined Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy aboard a boat on the River Thames as the government unveiled its long-awaited consultation on modernising marriage legislation that has remained largely unchanged for almost two centuries.
STUART MORRIS, 58, from Malham, North Yorkshire, is the founder of The International College of Professional Celebrants (ICPC), the world’s largest training organisation for wedding and funeral celebrants. On 16 July, he joined David Lammy for the launch event, where he hosted a question-and-answer session marking the beginning of the most significant review of marriage law in almost 200 years.
“The current law is a patchwork, with some parts dating back a thousand years,” said Stuart. He was invited to take part after years of working with the Ministry of Justice, including meetings with Baroness Levitt. Stuart helped establish the Wedding Celebrancy Commission and serves as an executive board member.
The Commission funded independent research through the Open University to explore what modern couples want from their weddings and to examine how countries including Australia have successfully introduced legal celebrant-led marriages. The findings informed the Law Commission’s 2022 report, which forms the basis of the government’s consultation.
He added: “A British couple married in Las Vegas will have that marriage recognised in the UK. Yet the same couple cannot legally marry with an independent celebrant in a Yorkshire barn or in their own garden. In England and Wales, only registrars and ministers from recognised religious organisations can legally conduct weddings, giving couples limited choice over who leads their ceremony or how personal it can be.”
“For same-sex couples, interfaith couples, and people whose own faith leaders cannot or will not conduct their ceremony, the choices can be very limited. Many are left with a basic legal ceremony costing around £100, available only once a month in many register offices, with pressure to upgrade to more expensive council packages. The system has focused on administration rather than couples, but these reforms could change that.”
“Every couple should be able to celebrate their relationship in a way that reflects who they are. Thirty years ago, I conducted my first funeral for a young woman whose family could not afford to bring her home. I was determined she would never be treated as just another number. I believe couples deserve that same level of care and dignity when they marry.”
The government says the consultation will explore reforms that provide greater choice over wedding locations, lower costs, support the wedding, tourism and hospitality sectors, particularly independent venues, and strengthen legal protections surrounding marriage. Around 470,000 couples marry each year under legislation that no longer reflects modern society.
The proposals would move the emphasis away from approved buildings and instead focus on authorised officiants, allowing legal weddings to take place in locations including beaches, forests, castles, canal boats and cruise ships. The reforms could also reduce costs, with the average wedding currently exceeding £20,000 and venue hire alone averaging around £6,000.
Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy said:
“They say you can’t put a price on love, but too often, the cost of weddings puts this commitment out of reach. That’s why I’m reforming archaic rules, so couples have more freedom to say ‘I do’ on their own terms, while strengthening safeguards to protect the meaning and permanence of marriage.”
The consultation also seeks to modernise how different faiths and belief groups are treated under the law. Couples who currently have to choose between a ceremony reflecting their beliefs and one that carries legal recognition could instead benefit from a consistent legal framework that accommodates both.
Stuart trains celebrants who conduct ceremonies for more than one million people every year across the UK. ICPC has 50 percent more active members than any other celebrancy organisation in the country. His forthcoming book, Hello, I Love You, Goodbye, explores the importance of ceremonies throughout life, with the opening four chapters now available at hilyg.uk.
The public consultation is now open at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/tying-the-knot-reforming-weddings-law-in-england-and-wales. The consultation will run from July 16 to September 24, lasting 10 weeks.
