2 Weddings - 1 marriage

[Jenny M Benson]

On FreeBMD I found 2 entries for the marriage of cousin of mine in 1929.
All the details are the same except for the page numbers. I have
looked at the image and they are entered as 795 & 837.

I then turned to the Lancashire BMD site and again there are 2 entries
for the marriage, one at the Parish Church and one "Register Office or
Registrar Attended."

I know it is not that unusual for a couple to have a Civil Ceremony and
some sort of religious marriage service or blessing of the union, but I
haven't before come across 2 separate entries in the Register. Why
would this be so? Could it be that the first wedding was at the Church
and something not done correctly (according to civil law) so it had to
be "corrected" at the Register Office?

[knuttle]

Post by Jenny M Benson
On FreeBMD I found 2 entries for the marriage of cousin of mine in 1929.
 All the details are the same except for the page numbers.  I have
looked at the image and they are entered as 795 & 837.
I then turned to the Lancashire BMD site and again there are 2 entries
for the marriage, one at the Parish Church and one "Register Office or
Registrar Attended."
I know it is not that unusual for a couple to have a Civil Ceremony and
some sort of religious marriage service or blessing of the union, but I
haven't before come across 2 separate entries in the Register.  Why
would this be so?  Could it be that the first wedding was at the Church
and something not done correctly (according to civil law) so it had to
be "corrected" at the Register Office?

It is possible that for what ever reason the marriage that was planned
when the first register entry was made. Then the wedding actually
occurred with the second entry.

Another way this can occur if the Officials batch the entries. ie the
registrar enters a note in his notebook when he officiates a wedding.
Then later he enters the information into the official register.

I have examples of both scenarios in my data. In one case the two
entries are a couple of years apart so the first may have expired. (I
have not

[Charles Ellson]

On Sat, 28 May 2022 09:12:26 -0400, knuttle

Post by knuttle

Post by Jenny M Benson
On FreeBMD I found 2 entries for the marriage of cousin of mine in 1929.
 All the details are the same except for the page numbers.  I have
looked at the image and they are entered as 795 & 837.
I then turned to the Lancashire BMD site and again there are 2 entries
for the marriage, one at the Parish Church and one "Register Office or
Registrar Attended."
I know it is not that unusual for a couple to have a Civil Ceremony and
some sort of religious marriage service or blessing of the union, but I
haven't before come across 2 separate entries in the Register.  Why
would this be so?  Could it be that the first wedding was at the Church
and something not done correctly (according to civil law) so it had to
be "corrected" at the Register Office?

It is possible that for what ever reason the marriage that was planned
when the first register entry was made. Then the wedding actually
occurred with the second entry.
Another way this can occur if the Officials batch the entries. ie the
registrar enters a note in his notebook when he officiates a wedding.
Then later he enters the information into the official register.
I have examples of both scenarios in my data. In one case the two
entries are a couple of years apart so the first may have expired. (I
have not checked the legalities.)

If the first marriage was valid then the second one would be void
because the parties were already lawfully married. OTOH if the first
marriage was void (rather than voidable) for some reason then the
second marriage would be valid if the legal requirements were met. Was
either party previously married ?

[Ian Goddard]

Post by Jenny M Benson
On FreeBMD I found 2 entries for the marriage of cousin of mine in 1929.
 All the details are the same except for the page numbers.  I have
looked at the image and they are entered as 795 & 837.
I then turned to the Lancashire BMD site and again there are 2 entries
for the marriage, one at the Parish Church and one "Register Office or
Registrar Attended."
I know it is not that unusual for a couple to have a Civil Ceremony and
some sort of religious marriage service or blessing of the union, but I
haven't before come across 2 separate entries in the Register.  Why
would this be so?  Could it be that the first wedding was at the Church
and something not done correctly (according to civil law) so it had to
be "corrected" at the Register Office?

I've got almost the opposite. A marriage licence for the parish in
which they lived, banns in another, both with probably deliberate
spelling errors in one name or the other, and no marriage I can find.

[cecilia]

On Sat, 28 May 2022 13:40:11 +0100, Jenny M Benson

Post by Jenny M Benson
On FreeBMD I found 2 entries for the marriage of cousin of mine in 1929.
All the details are the same except for the page numbers. I have
looked at the image and they are entered as 795 & 837.
I then turned to the Lancashire BMD site and again there are 2 entries
for the marriage, one at the Parish Church and one "Register Office or
Registrar Attended."
I know it is not that unusual for a couple to have a Civil Ceremony and
some sort of religious marriage service or blessing of the union, but I
haven't before come across 2 separate entries in the Register. Why
would this be so? Could it be that the first wedding was at the Church
and something not done correctly (according to civil law) so it had to
be "corrected" at the Register Office?

It's probably not relevant, but I heard of a wedding in the early
1960s in an RC church with the Registrar present. Just before the
start, the couple, the priest and the Registrar went to the vestry to
discuiss the fact that the residence requiremenmt (three weeks) had
not been satisfied - another few days were needed. With a large
congregation in the church and a large meal waiting in a local hotel,
the Registrar eventually agreed that the church service could go ahead
on the understanding the couple would attend the Registry Office the
next week for a civil ceremony, the priest managing to give the
Registrar sufficient confidence that he (the priest) would see that
they did.