With Parliament set to return on Monday, iconic wedding venue, Gretna Green, is calling on the Government to appoint a ‘Marriage Tsar.’
Right now, the number of people getting married in Britain is declining by around 2.5 to three per cent each year.
That has resulted in there now being more unmarried adults than those who are married.
In response to this, Gretna Green has written to the Government asking for them to appoint someone in a position to try and cut through some of the red tape that couples have to face before they walk down the aisle.
In England, Scotland and Wales, current laws mean couples have to give 28 days' notice before getting married.
Moreover, according to Hitched, the average cost of a wedding is now an eye-watering £23,250.
Reacting to this, executive chairman at Gretna Green, John Holliday, told GB News: “Marriage is struggling not because love is dead, but because the system is broken.”
A couple tying the knot at Gretna Green
|GB NEWS
He went on to add: “It’s actually easier to get a passport… it’s actually easier to get a divorce, which is perverse.”
“The Government has got to show some leadership… we want someone to be the voice of marriage in this country.”
“In America, it takes one to three days. In Denmark, it takes five days. And in Germany, which is a very conservative country, it takes 10 days.
Executive chairman at Gretna Green, John Holliday, told GB News: 'Marriage is struggling not because love is dead, but because the system is broken.'
|GB NEWS
"So, why does it take 28 days to get married in Britain?”
Gretna Green has been performing weddings since 1754 at their iconic Blacksmiths Shop.
The tradition started when England changed the laws to prevent under-18s from getting married without parental consent.
However, as it was still legal in Scotland, young couples would elope just over the border to tie the knot there.