CURB ON FRIVOLITY
NEW MARRIAGE CODE LONDON, Nov. 24. New orders for Register Office weddings, designed to curb “light-hearted and frivolous marriages,” are being sent out this week. Chief among the many changes in procedure is the instruction that the Registrar shall read out to all couples, before their marriage, this statement:— “Before you are bound in matrimony it is my duty to remind you of the solemn and binding character of the vows you are about to make. Marriage, according to British law, is the union of one man and one woman, voluntarily entered into for life to the exclusion of all others.” Registrars are also asked to emphasise the dignity and decorum of Register Office weddings, and to impress newlywed couples that their marriages are as sacred as those performed in the church.
The Superintendent of Registrars states:
“The new procedure follows discussions between church leaders and the Registrar-General. Too many people have hitherto looked on Register Office weddings as rather like taking out a wireless license. We want to end that.”
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Bibliographic details
Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22512, 16 December 1947, Page 7
Word Count
174CURB ON FRIVOLITY Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22512, 16 December 1947, Page 7
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