ChatterBank3 mins ago
Weddings
Probably the wrong catagory, but anyway;
Has anybody been to a wedding where somebody has spoken up after the line "does anybody know of any legal impediment why these people should not be married"?
If so, what happens next, assuming it's genuine and not just somebody trying to be funny?
Answers
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.The wedding must be postponed while an investigation takes place. In the case of an obviously silly one, the officiating person(s) can take a view to proceed with the agreement of the couple. In the case of a more serious accusation (bigamy, for example) the investigation will be more in depth.
It's one of the reasons why people take out wedding insurance as it protects you in the event of a false accusation.
Thankfully, I haven't had this happening at any wedding that I have officiated at - apart from the occasional coughs, titters and one one occasion a duck quacking several times just as the question was asked. The wedding was on a boat and the ducks just happened to be swimming past (or that was their story) :)
I can only speak for wedding legislation in Scotland but I think it probably applies in England too. The question asked about legal objections is just a formality really and not really necessary, as members of the public have been given due time to raise any objections with the registrar in the days running up to the wedding. A notice of marriage is posted by the registrar (usually 15 days before the wedding) and people have the opportunity during that time to raise any objections. There are only a few valid legal objections that can be made and they must be substantiated with proper evidence. I don't have my file with info about this to hand but these objections include bigamy and polygamy. It is (or was - not sure if this has changed since I moved overseas) also a problem for someone who has had as sex change to marry as they have to produce their birth certificate when they register the marriage and the sex registered on their birth certificate is the one they have to legally marry with. Perhaps the law has changed on this.