Brides are not property of their Father, and this is now finally reflected in the Marriage Certificate. Goodbye sexist patriarchy and hello step-parents!

Amid all the COVID wedding restrictions taking the headlines, there are some important changes now in force that will change your ceremony and your photos…

Shock. Horror. Brides are not property!

From the 4th May 2021 your marriage certificate will include the names of the Mother as well as the Father. The fact that the Mother was previously omitted was a throwback to a time when the Bride was considered property of the Father, and the marriage all about transferral of that property. Madness!

The other good step is that people can register 4 parents each to include step parents.

The fact that it’s taken this long is rather insane, but a welcome change nonetheless for anyone that does not live in the 19th Century.

A4 Schedule. Sounds Romantic…

The other important change is that couples will no longer get their marriage certificate on the day. They sign an A4 Schedule which will later get entered digitally onto the electronic system. Certificates can be collected at a later date from your register office.

My heart goes out to all the Registrars for whom this change has ruined their finest hour: when they can say ‘...and as is tradition in the UK, the marriage certificate goes to the... (groom extends hand) the BRIDE! (lots of laughter).....’ honestly, it’s absolutely classic stuff. Priceless.

What does this mean for photography?

An excellent question, I’m glad you brought it up. In terms of photography, I’m not sure yet what this means. As people will know, most photographs of the couple signing a register are a fake anyway, as registrars do not allow the signing to be photographed. A fake register is provided afterwards.

By then, I have already very bravely fought against the system and fired off a few shots of your actual signing (such as the shot above). So far I’ve managed to avoid jail for this.

So I’m not sure whether photographers will be invited to photograph the schedule signing (as it’s less of a critical step) or whether they’d fake register will be presented afterwards. If the latter, you’d have to argue that the charade just went even more absurd.