UK Wedding Law Reform: 5 Actions For Celebrants

Change is coming! In October 2025 we were delighted to receive confirmation that the Government will be reforming wedding law in England and Wales, and that it will be consulting on the details of this reform in early 2026. A key topic up for discussion in the consultation is whether independent celebrants should be allowed to conduct legally binding weddings. So if you’re new to the topic of UK wedding law reform or you want more details of how you can get involved in supporting independent celebrants, this blog is for you! 

The Wedding Law Reform Story So Far… 

We could literally write a book on the story of UK wedding law reform so far… but we’ll try to keep it simple! 

The move towards reform began in 2018 when the Government announced the need for a review of our outdated wedding laws. In 2019, the then Justice Secretary, David Gauke, assigned this review to the Law Commission of England and Wales, stating that: “People from all walks of life should be able to express their vows in a way that is meaningful to them. This review will look at the red tape and outdated rules around weddings – making sure our laws are fit for modern life.” (David Gauke, 2019)

The Law Commission then produced a scoping paper and began its work of drafting recommendations for wedding law reform, which went out for consultation in 2020. During the consultation phase, feedback was invited from all interested parties, and based on this feedback the Law Commission published its final set of recommendations in 2022.

The crux of the final report is the recommendation to replace the current ‘buildings-based system’ with an ‘officiant-based system’. This effectively means it will be the officiant who is licensed to conduct legal marriage ceremonies, rather than the building or location in which the ceremony takes place. This opens the door to weddings being held in a much wider variety of locations and, crucially, it could also open the door to marriage ceremonies being conducted by independent celebrants. 

Cue 3 years of virtual silence (well they have been quite busy with other things…), and now finally we have confirmation that this reform will be taken forward.  Hurrah!

But there is still much detail to be discussed, and this detail will be the topic of the Government’s consultation in early 2026.

What We Know Will Happen With Wedding Law Reform (And What We Don’t Know)

In the final response to the Law Commission issued in October 2025, Baroness Levitt (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Ministry of Justice) writes: “The law will shift from a system based on the regulation of buildings to regulation of the officiant responsible for the ceremony. This will mean that restrictions on where weddings can take place can be removed, subject to strict regulations ensuring that they remain dignified and serious.”  

The response goes on to say: “In delivering these reforms, the Government commits to remove the difference in treatment of humanists that was found by the High Court in the case of Harrison.”

So in short, we have confirmation that the reform will go ahead, and that humanist celebrants will be included as part of this. 

But what about independent celebrants? Well that’s one of the things we still don’t know. Despite the already huge and growing demand for weddings conducted by independent celebrants, the Government has yet to decide whether they will be allowed to conduct legally binding marriages as part of the reform. Baroness Levitt writes: “The consultation will likely focus on protecting the dignity of wedding ceremonies, consider whether independent celebrants should be allowed to conduct legally binding weddings, and explore the criteria and safeguards for religious and non-religious organisations nominating officiants.”

For this reason, anyone who feels that independent celebrants should be included as part of this reform must act now. It is crucial that all MPs are made aware of the unique service offered by independent celebrants and the consequences for couples if they are not included. 

How Do We Campaign For Independent Celebrants? 

We are very fortunate that the Law Commission has proposed an excellent scheme for how independent celebrants could be incorporated into this new legal framework if the Government permits (see pages 163-176 of the recommendations). 

However, it is up to us to show MPs the real value of putting this into practice. It would be easy for MPs to assume that regulating humanist celebrants within this new scheme is sufficient, but this alone would not fully address three of the key principles of the original review: fairness, equality, and respect for individuals’ wishes and beliefs.  

That’s why educating MPs about the need and demand for independent celebrants is at the heart of this campaign. So below we set out five actions that celebrants (and all interested parties) need to take over the next few weeks and months to drive forward this change.

1. Read The Wedding Law Reform Recommendations 

The above summary is very much a whistlestop tour of the Law Commission’s recommendations, but the full report is incredibly comprehensive and spans over 400 pages. Fortunately, the Commission also published a summary report and an at-a-glance summary of the full recommendations, so if you want some easier bedtime reading, these are for you! 

Reading these really is the first step if you haven’t done so already (and even if you have, it would be worth refreshing your knowledge), because we cannot hope to make the case for independent celebrants unless we fully understand the proposals put forward.

Importantly, it was never in the Law Commission’s remit to recommend that independent celebrants be included in this new scheme; rather they have proposed a comprehensive system that could include independent celebrants if the Government sees fit. It is important to remember this distinction when speaking with MPs, media, etc.

2. Sign Up To The Register  

The GCCM is pooling the details of all independent celebrants who wish to support this campaign so that we can keep you updated on developments and create a good spread of representation across all parliamentary constituencies. 

The register is open to all independent celebrants, regardless of who they trained with or which organisation they belong to. Now is the time to pull together – with an estimated 3-4k celebrants operating in the UK, we have real strength in numbers!

To sign up to the GCCM register, simply hit the button below and fill out a short and simple form on our website. 

3. Contact Your MP To Discuss Wedding Law Reform

The next step is to engage your MP in these discussions. If you have already done so in the past, now is the time to re-engage them following the latest update from the Government. 

Some MPs will be more responsive and receptive than others, but do not lose heart. Remember that it’s your MP’s job to look after the interests of people in their constituency – that includes you as a working celebrant, plus all the couples who will one day tie the knot. That’s a lot of people – so don’t be afraid to make your voice heard! 

To find the contact details of your local MP, just type in your postcode on the UK Parliament website. This will give you the name of your MP, the party they belong to, their contact details, and guidance on the best way to book an appointment with them. 

Many MPs also offer drop-in surgeries in the local community, so if you struggle to get a satisfactory response to emails, this is the place to go!

4. Discuss Wedding Law Reform With Your Couples

If we think there’s strength in the number of celebrants, just imagine the combined strength of all the couples we work with! 

Couples really are the best advocates for the inclusion of independent celebrants – they know why they chose you to officiate their ceremony, and there’s no doubt the majority would be happier if you were able to complete their legal marriage too!

We can’t promise couples that any change will happen in time for their wedding day (this is highly unlikely at this stage, unless they have a very long engagement!), but we can ask them to show their support for the campaign with a simple email to their MP. If we’re lucky, some might even have specific connections to people in Westminster or in the media – sometimes all it takes is a conversation in the right person’s ear to build momentum.

5. Shout It From The Rooftops!

We know one thing for sure – celebrants love to spread the love by sharing what they do! Many of you will be adept at social media, blog writing, podcasts and more – so use these platforms to spread the word about the upcoming consultation and the importance of including independent celebrants.

If we have one top tip for media content it’s this… be positive! Yes, we have a lot of frustrations with this whole process, but MPs will need us to offer solutions, not problems. They will need to see well-informed celebrants speaking with one voice – campaigning positively to give couples choice. 

With limited time before the consultation, we would love to see an influx of media support at the earliest opportunity. We’ll be sharing visual assets soon that you can share on your websites and socials, but in the meantime, let’s start by putting out some well-informed, positive content, using the following hashtags:

#SupportIndependentCelebrants

#WeddingLawReform

#GiveCouplesChoice

In Summary

To summarise, here’s the five things you need to do to support UK wedding law reform:

1. Read the recommendations: https://lawcom.gov.uk/project/weddings/ 
2. Contact your MP: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP  
3. Discuss reform with your couples
4. Write informed, positive content, using the hashtags.

With the consultation set to take place in early 2026, time is of the essence, so we’re working hard to produce all the support you need to make change happen. We hope you will join us!