An outdoor wedding?
- Thread starter JaneCarter
- Start date
-
Come along to the amazing Summer Moot (21st July - 2nd August), a festival of bushcrafting and camping in a beautiful woodland PLEASE CLICK HERE for more information.
I guess not many Londoners need a translator that speaks better English.
You'll be surprised !.....
In England and Wales not only do you have to have and official person to officiate, but the venue also has to have a license for weddings and as far as I am aware it has to be a building so it can't be in the middle of a field or a wood. Where as in Scotland there is no restriction on the venue so it can be anywhere.
if the ceremony is to be conducted by a regestrar in a previosly unofficiated location (in scotland) you have to pay a considerable amount, even if it is temporary.
Yeah I gathered that much from the thread. I don't think that's the norm globally though. I was especially curious about someone's previous post that it couldn't be on a "moving" venue such as a train. I've never heard of a wedding taking place on a train but I have heard of several being conducted by a ship's captain at sea while underway.
I know over here weddings can take place anywhere; in some states (Florida being one of 3) the ceremony can be conducted by a Notary Public. It's quite common for weddings (particulary a second wedding) to take place in the back yard of the bride or groom's parents home (I performed one such ceremony while I still held my Notary commission)
The captain being able to marry people on his ship is a bit of a myth. It dates from the era of voyages taking months, so if a couple got together during the voyage they were unable to marry and at that time it would have been frowned upon for them to 'do the squelchy' before marriage, at least on a ship where being discreet would have been impossible. Getting the captain to perform the ceremony wasn't legally binding, and a couple would have to get the marriage legitimised when they docked if they wanted it to be legally binding.
I thought that the Cap'n marrying folk dated from the colonial period when couples were formed on the ships from the UK to the colonies ( where priests were not always present) & thus were legally married, their offspring not being b--tards had legitimate right to their parents land after their death.
Last edited:
I suppose that's possible for the ones you see in the movies. The ones I know of here though are usually part of the whole wedding plan; they plan a cruise and have the wedding done at sea. Possibly they have their own minister accompany them (or possibly the large cruise ships even have their own Chaplains aboard now) As I said, Florida is one of 3 states that allow Notaries Public to perform weddinds; while i'm not sure, I would assume that Ships' Captains have Notary priveledges (I know that military officers, law enforcement officers, judges, mayors, and governors, correctional officers do)
All that being said, when a wedding is performed here (by who-ever) the officiant performs the ceremony and signs the marriage license (as do the bride and groom) then the license is "recorded" at the local courthouse. This step must happen no matter where or by whom the ceremony is performed but it is NOT considered a part of the wedding; the wedding is always separate from the "recording." The only exception (to having it recorded at the local courthouse) would be those weddings performed abroad or in areas not under the jurisdiction of any individual state (such as a ship beyond the territorial limits of a state) or in areas where the US (Federal government) has "extra-territorial priveledge" such as an embassy, or military installation overseas. In that case the recording would be the embassy or a federal court.
Last edited:
"Since the days of the first wooden vessels, all ship masters have had one happy privilege: that of uniting two people in the bonds of matrimony."
Captain James T. Kirk
Captain James T. Kirk
LOL. I like the quote BTW but I'm not sure if your reference is valid evidence.
TBH I would think that the ability (or lack of it) for a ship's Captain to perform a wedding at sea probably depends on the laws of the country where the ship itself is registered. Making the ships spaces something of an "extra-territorial" priveledge in itself.
TBH I would think that the ability (or lack of it) for a ship's Captain to perform a wedding at sea probably depends on the laws of the country where the ship itself is registered. Making the ships spaces something of an "extra-territorial" priveledge in itself.
Last edited:
When the myth is stronger than the truth http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/07/15/2304463.htm
Thanks BTW. Interesting link. Some of it is a bit vague though; I'm familiar with the UCMJ (the Uniform Code of Military Justice which is the law that governs the US Navy and all our services) but I'm not aware of any separate federal code governing them specifically (the CFRs are usually civilian codes) I'm sure the CFRs apply equally to the military, I just never thought of them specifically mentioning them. Perhaps that particular CFR IS the UCMJ (I really don't know)
I was referring to civilian cruise ships though. Seeing the link (and trusting that it's valid) I suppose the ones I knew of might have been on ships in the listed registries. I know they were civilian cruise ships in the Caribean (a long way from Alaska)
TBH I would have though that such authority (if it exists/existed) would be fairly recent anyway. Think about it; until the 20th century there just weren't many women aboard ships (particularly so for women who weren't already married and accompanied by their husbands)
I was referring to civilian cruise ships though. Seeing the link (and trusting that it's valid) I suppose the ones I knew of might have been on ships in the listed registries. I know they were civilian cruise ships in the Caribean (a long way from Alaska)
TBH I would have though that such authority (if it exists/existed) would be fairly recent anyway. Think about it; until the 20th century there just weren't many women aboard ships (particularly so for women who weren't already married and accompanied by their husbands)
