While it once was very widely accepted that a wedding was to be held in a church, temple, mosque, synagogue or any other religious building, the present day shows us an entirely different situation, where a wedding does not need to take place on consecrated ground – largely because it is the wedding itself and the people involved that are to be consecrated. With this widening of the boundaries, it is now possible to get married in a range of settings, and more and more people are choosing this option. While some are skeptical about this change, it is here to stay.
If you are not religious, you may very reasonably decide that you do not want to get married in a church, and just as reasonably argue that if you were to do so you would not be being fair to that church. Surely the vital element of a marriage is honesty, and if the marriage starts with even a symbolic dishonesty there must be some doubt over how it will go forward. A registry office is the most common alternative, although hotels, cruise ships and holiday resorts (many of which are now dedicated to the “wedding market”) are also popular.
The decision over where to marry should be taken equally by bride and groom, deciding on the basis that the choice should be mutual in order to start the marriage on the right foot. Consensus is something you will be looking for in the rest of your lives, so it is fitting that it should start at the beginning.