UK Wedding News
03/07/2013
According to the Daily Telegraph, Gary and Louise Lidington were preparing for their civil ceremony at Wilton's Music Hall, London, when they received a message from their registrar.
The message, which 39-year-old Mrs Lidington received on her mobile on Friday afternoon, said the couple could not marry due to the traditional wording they had chosen for their vows.
The phrases causing the problem, included 'in sickness and in health' and 'to have and to hold', as both were viewed as having Christian overtones, and therefore unacceptable.
As a result, the couple changed the phrases to 'in sickness and when we are well', and 'to hold and to have'.
The couple chose a civil wedding for their big day as neither considered themselves to be overly religious. Having arranged the wedding months earlier, it was thought the vows had been accepted by registrars following a meeting in February.
After receiving the message, Mrs Lidington said: "It was the registrar to say that she would not be able to marry us with these words and could I rewrite them over the phone.
"They have just stood the test of time, they sound like poetry, they flow beautifully and they are just the form of words that you expect at a wedding.
"Ever since I was 11 I just imagined that they would be the words I would use when I married my husband."
A spokesman for Tower Hamlets Council is quoted as saying: "We apologise for the short notice that Mr and Mrs Lidington received regarding changes to their chosen vows.
"It was important that their civil ceremony complied with the relevant legal process, and we worked closely with the couple to ensure that the vows they exchanged on their special day were as close as possible to those they had initially chosen."
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said the wording of civil weddings was governed by the 1949 Marriage Act, which states that: "No religious service shall be used at any marriage solemnized in the presence of a superintendent registrar."
He added that it was the discretion of each register office as to how they interpreted the law.
(JP/CD)
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Couple Forced To Change 'Religious' Vows
A couple were forced to rewrite their wedding vows just hours before they were due to marry, after they were viewed as 'too religious'.According to the Daily Telegraph, Gary and Louise Lidington were preparing for their civil ceremony at Wilton's Music Hall, London, when they received a message from their registrar.
The message, which 39-year-old Mrs Lidington received on her mobile on Friday afternoon, said the couple could not marry due to the traditional wording they had chosen for their vows.
The phrases causing the problem, included 'in sickness and in health' and 'to have and to hold', as both were viewed as having Christian overtones, and therefore unacceptable.
As a result, the couple changed the phrases to 'in sickness and when we are well', and 'to hold and to have'.
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The couple chose a civil wedding for their big day as neither considered themselves to be overly religious. Having arranged the wedding months earlier, it was thought the vows had been accepted by registrars following a meeting in February.
After receiving the message, Mrs Lidington said: "It was the registrar to say that she would not be able to marry us with these words and could I rewrite them over the phone.
"They have just stood the test of time, they sound like poetry, they flow beautifully and they are just the form of words that you expect at a wedding.
"Ever since I was 11 I just imagined that they would be the words I would use when I married my husband."
A spokesman for Tower Hamlets Council is quoted as saying: "We apologise for the short notice that Mr and Mrs Lidington received regarding changes to their chosen vows.
"It was important that their civil ceremony complied with the relevant legal process, and we worked closely with the couple to ensure that the vows they exchanged on their special day were as close as possible to those they had initially chosen."
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said the wording of civil weddings was governed by the 1949 Marriage Act, which states that: "No religious service shall be used at any marriage solemnized in the presence of a superintendent registrar."
He added that it was the discretion of each register office as to how they interpreted the law.
(JP/CD)
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