Couples to be allowed to choose the venue where they say 'I do'

Marrying couples will be allowed tie the knot at a venue of their choosing under new proposals to be incorporated into legislation later this year.

So long as the location is public and no food or alcohol is served during the ceremony, couples should be free to choose where to get married, according to the Inter-Departmental Committee on Reform of Marriage Law.

The only other proposed restrictions are that the location must be a "seemly and dignified" and public place for a marriage ceremony and that it complies with fire and safety regulations. "The key principle is that marriage is a public act and the location must not detract from the solemn nature of the marriage ceremony," according to the committee.

For religious weddings, individual churches would be free to regulate the venues at which marriages could be celebrated. For civil ceremonies, county registrars would be allowed solemnise a marriage in any venue provided it was approved.

The complex requirements that apply to residency before marriage should be relaxed, but the notice to give three months' notice of intention to marry should be strengthened, the committee also recommends.

It also says all couples should require a civil marriage registration form, whether or not they are marrying in a Catholic or Church of Ireland church.

The present system of marriage registration is based on legislation dating back to Victorian times, and varies from church to church and between civil and religious ceremonies. Marriage licences can only be issued by a registrar and certain religious bodies.

The system lacks uniformity and the regulations governing venues are perceived to be "complex, anomalous and possibly discriminatory", according to a background paper prepared by the committee.

The demand for civil marriage has soared in recent years, yet only the Dublin Register Office is able to accommodate wedding parties of up to 60 people. Groups of this size gather five or six times a week in Dublin during the summer months.

The committee says this is "unduly restrictive" and the limited facilities in many areas no longer meets customers' needs or expectations for civil marriage.

The thorny issues of same-sex marriage was not addressed by the committee, which concerned itself with marriage in its constitutional and legal sense, "i.e. the union between a man and a woman".