How to make your outdoor handfasting legally binding?
In my last blog, I spoke about the one place in England and Wales that can hold legally binding handfastings.(If you missed it, here is the link.) Since it is a primarily an indoors venue, some of you asked how to make your outdoor handfasting legally binding.
Well, there are two ways of making sure your outdoor handfasting is legally binding.
So here are some ideas for you!
1. Making your split ceremony a legally binding handfasting?
What is a split ceremony? I hear you ask.
A split handfasting ceremony is when you literally split your ceremony it two parts: Have your legal wedding at a licenced venue with a registrar. And once the legal bit is done, your celebrant takes over for the second half of the ceremony conducting your handfasting.
If you are planning to do this, you must ask the Registrar’s permission in advance. By advance I mean weeks or months, not half an hour before the ceremony, because they might not be able to allow it.
When I got married, our Registry Office had strict rules and we could not have a celebrant at our venue. We could have had a celebrant after the registrar led ceremony had ended, and after we left the room we just got married in. Which would not have made for a nice split ceremony at all.
Obviously, I got married quite a few moons ago, and things luckily have changed. So if this is something you want to do, ask your registrar!
If this is not for you or your registrar can’t allow it, you can have your Handfasting the continental Europe way.
2. Have your handfasting the European way
If a split ceremony is not for you, or your registrar can’t allow it, you can do what couples in most continental Europe do.
In most continental European countries, only a registrar can legally marry you. For this reason, any couples wishing to have a religious wedding ceremony, have two weddings. Not two full days and two full parties, obviously.
Take your witnesses down to your local Registry Office a few days before, or even in the morning of your big day, and get the legal bit done.
Then have the handfasting of your dreams at your dream venue with all your loved ones, and a hug party.
It is not strictly making your outdoor handfasting legally binding, but the end result is the same.
3. Hold your outdoor handfasting where it is legally binding
If there is only one way for you, and that is to have one ceremony, with one officiant, on one day, with all your loved ones, then there is only one way of doing it:
Hold your outdoor handfasting where it is legally binding.
At time of writing, this unfortunately means outside of England or Wales. If you are happy to look a little further afield, you can have the legally binding outdoor handfasting of your dreams.
The only question now is: where?
And of course I have done the research for you!
You can find information about where you can have an outdoor handfasting, and how to make sure it is legally binding in my blog here: Are handfastings legal in these 8 countries?
Got Broomstick, will travel!
Regardless of where you are getting handfast, you will not have to do without a photographer who knows their way around a handfasting.
While I am based on the beautiful Surrey-Hampshire border, I travel the whole of the UK, EU and Schengen zone for your perfect handfasting.
You can get in touch and find out how I can help you capture your handfasting without missing the important stuff only a fellow pagan will understand, via my contact form.
Bright blessings,
Alternative Wedding And Handfasting Photographer UK and EU
