Weddings
Getting Married at Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral is not quite the same as a parish church. If you are resident in a parish you are entitled to be married in the parish church. If you wish to get married at the Cathedral you need to have one of the following Qualifying Connections.
- You or your fiancé were baptised in The Cathedral;
- You or your fiancé have their confirmation entered in a register book of The Cathedral;
- You or your fiancé have had their usual place of residence in The Close for at least six months;
- You or your fiancé have at any time habitually attended public worship at the Cathedral for at least six months;
- You or your fiancé parents have at any time had their usual place of residence in The Close for at least six months;
- You or your fiancé parents have habitually attended public worship in the cathedral for at least six months;
- You or your fiancé parents or grandparents were married in The Cathedral
- You or your fiancé attended the Cathedral School or Bishop Wordsworth School.
- You or your fiancé are members of the Cathedral Roll.
If none of these apply it might still be possible for a Ceremony to be conducted at the Cathedral, but you would have to obtain an Archbishop’s Special License.
To obtain an Archbishop’s Special License, you need to have a worshipping and spiritual connection with the Cathedral and it is possible to apply for a license after a period of regular worship in the Cathedral.
Everyone in this country has a parish church where they could be married. So, you might want to consider contacting your local vicar if you do not feel you can meet these worshipping requirements.
For any further information, please contact fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page.
The Cathedral and Close are private property and the upkeep of both is expensive.
We look to pay for the costs of upkeep where appropriate and where possible. Organisers or commercial photographers of weddings that are not taking place in the Cathedral are allowed to take photos within the area of the churchyard provided they obtain approval in advance and pay a fee of £50.00 (incl VAT). Please note that photographs of weddings that have not been held inside the Cathedral cannot not be taken in the Cathedral itself, the Cloisters or the Cloister Garth.
It should be noted that weddings which take place inside the Cathedral will take priority over the commercial user when a clash of programmes/timings is identified.