"What about Him and Her (friends of ours who are no longer together) who got married at Castlerigg?" I asked Ailz.
"They went to the registry office first," she said. "And the Castlerigg ceremony was a Druidic handfasting."
This arose because Theresa May has just announced she wants to bring the rules up to date. There'll be a review by the Law Commission- and it'll report in two years time.
Why so long? What's to stop this being fixed in a week? Everyone can see it's a matter of government playing catch-up with public attitudes. Inform the Archbishop of Canterbury and other interested parties you're doing it- but don't ask for their opinions because they'll only raise difficulties. It's hardly controversial. Do it now.
Apparently venues will still have to be vetted for "solemnity and dignity". But why?
If people want to get hitched on top of the helter skelter at Alton Towers let them. They're the ones who are going to have to live with the embarrassing wedding pix.
Besides, solemnity is no guarantee of ever-lastingness. I once went to a wedding in a cathedral; a very important cleric officiated; the choir sang; it cost a bomb. And did the marriage last? Actually, no.