How to find the date of a marriage

Marriage registration in England and Wales began in 1837, in Scotland in 1855, and in Ireland in 1845 (these were non-Catholic marriages only until 1864). Thanks to digitisation projects, you can now search national indexes for these records online via family history websites. 

In England and Wales, the General Register Office (GRO) holds the official indexes, but sites like Findmypast have searchable copies. 

Civil marriage indexes typically include: 

• Full names of the couple 
• Registration district 
• Quarter and year of registration 
• Volume and page number (used to order the certificate) 

These indexes won’t include the exact date of the wedding, but they’ll guide you to the marriage certificate, which does. 

Once you’ve located the couple in an index, you can order a copy of the certificate from the relevant archive (e.g., the GRO for England and Wales). A marriage certificate usually includes: 

• The exact date of the marriage 
• Full names of both parties 
• Ages and occupations 
• Residence at the time of marriage 
• Names and occupations of the fathers 
• Location of the ceremony 
• Names of witnesses 

This document not only gives the date but offers rich details that help confirm you're tracing the right people. Find out how to get the marriage certificate you’re looking for here.  

Before civil registration began, churches were responsible for recording marriages. Parish registers can take you back as far as 1538, when registration of baptisms, marriages and burials began.  

You’ll find useful church records for different regions and denominations; Anglican records from England and Wales, Catholic parish registers in Ireland and Church of Scotland records all contain marriage entries. 

Many of these records have been digitised and are searchable on platforms like Findmypast. Though the information you’ll find will vary, parish marriage entries typically list: 

• Date of the wedding 
• Names of bride and groom 
• Parish of residence 
• Parents’ names or witnesses 

Spelling variations and transcription quirks are common, particularly in earlier records, so be flexible when searching. 

Before tying the knot, many couples had their intention to marry announced in church through banns – typically read on three consecutive Sundays. These announcements gave the local community a chance to raise any legal objections. Even if a marriage entry itself has been lost, banns registers can help you estimate the date of the wedding and confirm the parish involved. 

Not all couples married by banns, though. Some opted for a marriage licence instead – often to speed things up, avoid public announcements, or marry outside their home parish. These licences required a sworn statement that there were no legal impediments to the marriage and sometimes came with a bond or fee. 

If your ancestor’s wedding doesn't appear in parish registers or banns, a licence record may hold the clue you need. These records can be rich in detail and are especially useful for tracing non-conformist, Catholic, or more affluent families. 

If your ancestors married in the 19th or 20th centuries, there’s a good chance their wedding was mentioned in a local newspaper. Engagement and wedding announcements were a common feature, especially in small communities or among the middle and upper classes. 

Historical newspaper articles may include the full date, venue, names of guests, and even what the bride wore – a treasure trove for any family historian. Millions of digitised newspaper pages are available to search online via the Findmypast newspaper archive.