Originally posted by Olde Crone Holden
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Xmas marriages and christenings
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Last edited by Richard in Perth; 26-09-14, 00:49.
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Thanks to everyone who has sent me details.
Anne's certificate had me checking Google for civil marriages on Christmas Day and I found a few councils will book them these days.
I also found this
It seems one of their reasons was it was the only time they could get their families together at the one time. ;)
Cheers
GuyGuy passed away October 2022
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The Lost Cousins website carries the following exert from the pdf file Miscellaneous Notes about Marriage Regulations
“Penny Weddings.” In C19 and early C20 many workers only had Christmas and Easter Day holidays, and had little money to pay church fees, so multiple weddings were not uncommon. A batch of couples would have a joint wedding ceremony, saying everything together except the actual vows “I John take you Mary…” etc. Each couple contributed one penny to make up the fee. The record is said to be that of a curate of a church in Worcester who married 26 couples on Christmas Day one year.”
The above is interesting to me in two ways one the use of the term Penny Weddings, coming from Scotland I associate that term to the weddings where the guests contribute to the reception rather than the couples contributing to the marriage fee.
The Scottish churches frowned on Penny Weddings where the reception often held in a pub where “one, two, and even three hundred would convene on these occasions to make merry at their own expense for two or more days”.
Cheers
GuyGuy passed away October 2022
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Richard
You are right of course - but London is and was always an exception to every rule. Perhaps in the case of London weddings it was because the church fee was waived on that day and the Register Office was "open for business" because not everyone is a) religious b) a member of the established church.
It would be interesting to see what occupations people had..........
OC
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