Quick Answer
What are wedding banns?
Wedding banns are the public announcement of an intended marriage, read aloud in the couple's Church of England parish church(es) on three Sundays before the wedding. They're one of the legal ways a couple can give notice of marriage in England and Wales for a Church of England or Church in Wales ceremony, alongside a common licence or superintendent registrar's certificate.
Last updated:
Last updated:
What are wedding banns?
Also called: banns of marriage, reading the banns, calling the banns.
Wedding banns sound like a medieval formality, but they're still a live legal mechanism in England and Wales: a couple marrying in the Church of England or Church in Wales can satisfy the legal notice requirement by having their intention to marry read aloud, by name, in church on three Sundays in the three months before the wedding — instead of going through the civil register office notice process. The custom exists to give anyone with a lawful objection (most commonly, that one party is already married) the chance to raise it before the ceremony.
How banns work in practice
Banns are read out during a normal Sunday service by the vicar, in both parishes if the bride and groom live in different parishes from each other or from the church where they're marrying. The vicar names both parties and invites anyone present who knows a legal reason the marriage shouldn't go ahead to declare it — a moment that survives mostly as tradition today rather than a genuine expectation of objection. A certificate confirming the banns were read is then required before the ceremony. Couples marrying in a Church of England church still need to arrange this with the vicar well in advance, since it needs three clear Sundays and has to be completed within three months of the wedding.
Planning notes
- •Book banns with the vicar at least three to four months ahead — the three-Sunday reading has to land inside the three months before the wedding, so timing is tighter than it looks.
- •If the bride and groom live in different parishes, banns need to be read in both — confirm this with each vicar rather than assuming one reading covers it.
- •Ask the church for the banns certificate well before the ceremony date; it's required paperwork, not just tradition.
- •For a civil or register office wedding instead, banns don't apply — see the separate notice-of-marriage process at the register office.
Track legal-paperwork deadlines alongside the wedding checklist
Weddingkart's wedding checklist tool helps couples keep time-sensitive tasks like banns readings and notice-of-marriage appointments from slipping past their deadline.
Try the wedding checklist →Frequently Asked Questions
Are wedding banns still legally required in the UK?
They're one of several legal routes for giving notice of marriage — required only for couples marrying via banns in the Church of England or Church in Wales, not for civil ceremonies or most other religious weddings, which use the register office notice process instead.
How many times are banns read?
Three times, on three separate Sundays, in the three months immediately before the wedding, in the parish church(es) of both the bride and groom.
What happens if someone objects during the reading of the banns?
In practice this is exceptionally rare today. A genuine legal objection (such as an existing marriage) would need to be raised with the vicar or registrar, who would then have to investigate before the wedding could proceed.
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By Mayank JaiswalLast updated