More couples opt for hotel wedding

The number of couples choosing to get married in hotels and country houses has continued to rise, according to the National Office of Statistics.

Figures published last week show that it is not just Madonna who is opting to tie the knot in a hotel rather than a church or register office. In 1999, more than 37,000 couples got married in hotels, stately homes and other approved premises. This compares with just 28,000 in 1998 and 22,000 in the previous year. Today, 14% of all wedding ceremonies now take place in a hotel.

"The trend is for bigger weddings now," said Jan Clarke, co-owner of the Glen-yr-Afon House hotel in Usk, Gwent, which has two rooms licensed to hold civil weddings.

"When we started performing weddings on the premises they tended to be small affairs, but now our guests are demanding really quite grand occasions. While it is wonderful for business, they do have to be managed quite differently as the guests can be on the premises from 10am to when the party finishes late in the evening," she added.

She said about a third of wedding parties at the hotel decide to have the ceremony on the premises.

Hotels can apply for a licence from their local authority to allow civil weddings on the premises under section 46A of the Marriage Act. The licence costs about £1,000, depending on where you are in the country.

One state in the USA has gone even further than allowing traditional marriages in hotels. From July last year, hotels in Vermont have been allowed to offer homosexual couples a "civil union". Randy Guy, owner of the Chester House Inn in Chester, Vermont, says he has never been busier and is having to turn couples away.

by Miles Brignall

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 18-24 January 2000