Who can get married in a cathedral?

Can anyone get married in a cathedral? Not surprisingly, the answer is no.

A cathedral must rank as one of the grandest places to have your wedding, if not the grandest. I recently photographed a wedding at Salisbury Cathedral…. and wow! I’ve seen some churches, but the sheer scale of Salisbury Cathedral makes it extremely impressive.

The couple didn’t just rock up and ask to be wed there. Oh no. A cathedral has its own parish (in this case the Cathedral Close), so those worshipping there on a regular basis can count it as “their church”. By chance my wedding couple actually lived outside the Close, but had long been welcomed to the congregation. Even so they had to apply to the Archbishop of Canterbury to be allowed to hold their wedding in Salisbury. Apparently the agreement sent to them was something akin to the Magna Carter or some Royal charter, very impressive and in keeping with the venue itself.

As with many places of worship, be warned. The professional photographer can be restricted in what they do. This is, of course, always to be respected… and even then a real treat.