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Major boost to economy through wedding law reform?

ended 03. October 2025

In the biggest overhaul to marriage law since the 19th century, reforms are set to give marrying couples greater freedom and boost the economy by £535 million, the government has said today.

The reforms will give couples more choice in how they get married, making the process simpler, fairer and less costly, while ensuring the dignity and integrity of marriage is protected.  

  • Marrying couples to gain freedoms to get married in new locations – from beaches to castles
  • This will also be a significant boost to the economy as it is estimated the reforms could lead to a 3% increase in weddings in England and Wales, adding £535 million to the economy over the next 10 years, supporting 1,800 more businesses.
  • These changes will mean marriage law reflects modern Britain, making it more straightforward for couples to have legally binding religious ceremonies - including Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu weddings - and allow non-religious groups, such as Humanists, to conduct legally binding ceremonies for the first time. 

What do you think about the plans, is it realistic? Are the figures legit, do you think it will actually boost the economy by £535m and lead to a 3% increase in weddings? Is this a sticking plaster on a broken bone for the economy which is on its last legs? Any more thoughts on the plans?

2 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Scott Gallacher
Director at Rowley Turton
These reforms are a big step in the right direction, but there is further to go. The old system was clearly discriminating against those of different faiths or no faith, so giving couples greater freedom over how they marry is long overdue and very welcome.

However, the changes do nothing to address the blatantly unfair treatment of unmarried or cohabiting couples, who remain continually overlooked by governments of all colours. Cohabiting couples face punitive inheritance tax and capital gains tax rules — and from 2027, they will even be hit by inheritance tax on pensions.

If the government is serious about reflecting modern Britain, it should recognise that cohabitation is now an equally valid form of long-term relationship. At present it is punished by the tax system, even while being recognised by the benefits system.
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Keith Budden
Managing Director at Ensurety
While the increased flexibility is welcome, I do have real doubts over the economic benefit of this, since a good number of these couples would presumably have got married at some point anyway, albeit not necessarily in their ideal location of choice.

So while this move may bring increased revenue to some areas where weddings cannot currently be conducted, I would be extremely sceptical of the claimed of the claimed £535 million boost to the economy and even more sceptical of the claimed 1800 new businesses. My gut feel is that the true figures will be between 25% and 40% of these claimed benefits.