Marriage
24th
May 2008
Here in the UK we have so many ways of pairing up that it can get a bit confusing. So to help me work out which one's which I've put this little table together:
| Unmarried | Church marriage | Civil marriage | Civil partnership | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allowed to use the title marriage | no | yes | yes | no |
| Allowed to use religious wording during ceremony | no | yes | no | no |
| Valid within religion | no | yes | no | no |
| Full partnership rights under law | no | yes | yes | yes |
| Next of kin | no | yes | yes | yes |
| Right to be at partner's hospital bedside | no | yes | yes | yes |
| Annulled if children not produced | no | no | no | no |
| Allowed joint adoption | no | yes | yes | yes |
| Allowable combinations | female+female female+male male+male | female+male | female+male | female+female male+male |
I hope that clears things up.