‘Like a poll tax’: Church of England should stop charging couples for weddings, say vicars

Call for high fees to be scrapped as church marriages fall by half in England and Wales between 1999 and 2019

High fees are putting church weddings beyond the reach of many couples and should be scrapped or set at a nominal amount, according to clergy in one of the most deprived areas of England.

Marriage fees, which can be as high as 641, are a contributory factor to the decline in church weddings, they claim. A proposal to be debated this week at the Church of England's ruling body, the General Synod, calls for fees to be abolished or reduced to a minimal amount in order to demonstrate the church's commitment to marriage and pastoral care".