At what point is a marriage lawful?
<p>When my sister got married, at the rehearsal the celebrant said he had to be careful what he said and when because if he said 'too much' they would end up married sooner than they planned. Although this was a year or two ago a question has lingered: at what point in a ceremony, taking place in England and Wales, does the marriage become official?</p>

<p>I'm not concerned with wedding scenes for TV and film because there are precursor steps leading up to the ceremony that would prevent an 'accidental' marriage.  I'm also like to know if there are any  differences between marriage and civil partnerships.</p>

<p>All the results my searches have returned are related to what conditions make a marriage legal rather than the point it becomes legal.</p>

<p>The celebrant was (hopefully) joking. They (should) know that you can’t get married <strong>accidentally</strong>. Marriage requires genuine consent of both parties which participation in a <strong>rehearsal</strong> denies is there.</p>

<p>Technically, the parties are married when all the legal formalities are complete. Practically, they are married when they believe they are. </p>

<p>Legally, they are married when the court considering the question in the case decides they are - a court would only be doing this if there was some issue that hinged on it and it would look at all the evidence. For example, if there were doubt about intention then the court might decide they were never married. Alternatively, even if the technical requirements were not met, the court might decide that they are married and if necessary the date/time this occurred.</p>

<p>It's a fairly artificial question; the normal answer is "at the ceremony" and if a question should arise then, as Dale says, a judge or other officer would decide looking at all the evidence. However, as a technical matter, the act that completes a church wedding for legal purposes is signing the register; that creates a formal document that constitutes proof. The marriage certificate and form sent periodically by the church to the General Register Office are copies of the parish register (as <a href="https://www.gov.uk/correct-marriage-registration" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the relevant website</a> makes clear), and if the happy couple left without signing the register I would think they would have to come back later, and their marriage would technically date from the later day. But I can't imagine the point ever being more than hypothetical.</p>

england-and-wales marriage