Wedding Interloper

In late summer last year, I was Toastmaster at a fairly standard western wedding at a local venue.

All was set for the civil ceremony. Introductory announcements had been made, guests were all seated, background music was playing and the groom was standing at the front, with his best man, awaiting the arrival of his bride.

I was just finalising entrance arrangements with the registrar when the wedding co-ordinator caught my eye. She was beckoning me over to the door. As I got to her she explained that one of the hotel’s residents, with no connection at all to the wedding party, was asking to sit-in and watch the wedding ceremony. She asked if I would come and discuss it with him.

The smartly-dressed elderly gentleman explained to me that his understanding was that weddings ‘are open to the public in this country’. Being unsure of his assertion, I explained that the room was privately booked for the event and that it would be the decision of the wedding couple as to whether they wanted him in their ceremony. I said that I would ask them.

Immediately afterwards, as I was explaining this to groom, one of the registrars overheard and offered to come with me to outline the legal position to the man. Interestingly, she backed me up in the way I had handled his request, but explained that, in this country, there is a statutory right to attend a wedding ceremony as anyone has a right to air an objection to the marriage taking place and as such all weddings are, in essence, public events.

However, she then commented to me, privately, that there is currently a consultation underway and one of the proposed changes is to remove this legal right. The basis being that as there is a 28 day advance notice of marriage published, this is plenty of time for anyone to raise a justified objection. It does make me wonder what other proposals may also be undergoing consultation though.

Rather to my surprise, when I asked her as she was preparing to walk down the aisle, the bride actually had no issue at all with the gentleman sitting in the back row of her wedding. He sat quietly on his own, as his wife had turned down his invitation to accompany him. At the point in the ceremony where registrar asked if anyone present knew of any lawful impediment to the marriage, he simply turned, looked across the room at me and winked!

Simon Shirley March ’23