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Does Martyn’s Law apply to wedding venues?
A wedding on its own won’t bring a venue under Martyn’s Law – guests invited by the couple aren’t “members of the public”. But plenty of wedding venues are hotels, pubs, stately homes or halls that open to the public at other times, and those uses can put them in scope.
The short version
- Private weddings aren’t public events. The statutory guidance names “relatives and friends invited to a wedding reception” as an example of people who are not members of the public.
- Your other uses can still put you in scope. Hotels, pubs, restaurants, venues for hire, visitor attractions and places of worship are all listed in the Act.
- You stay responsible when a couple books you. The guidance says responsibility doesn’t pass to the event organiser.
- Venues that host mostly private weddings but some public events are a grey area – check with the SIA.
Why a private wedding doesn’t count
Martyn’s Law covers premises where members of the public have access, and the 200 and 800 thresholds count individuals present. The statutory guidance explains that people attending a private, invitation-only occasion are not members of the public for this purpose, and gives relatives and friends invited to a wedding reception as its example.
So a venue used only for private weddings, with every guest invited by the couple, is not brought into scope by those weddings alone.
When a wedding venue is in scope anyway
Schedule 1 of the Act lists the kinds of premises that can qualify. Many wedding venues fit one of them through what they do on other days:
| Type of venue | Why it may be in scope |
|---|---|
| Hotels | Hotels are listed without the public-access condition that applies to many other uses (Schedule 1, paragraph 8). |
| Pubs, bars and restaurants with function rooms | Food and drink premises open to the public are listed (paragraph 2). |
| Halls and venues hired out for public events | Premises used for hire for events the public attend, such as concerts, fairs and ticketed parties (paragraph 6). |
| Stately homes, castles, gardens and museums | Visitor attractions open to the public (paragraph 7). |
| Churches and other places of worship | Places of worship are listed and stay in the standard tier however many attend (paragraph 9). |
In each case the venue is only in scope if it is reasonable to expect 200 or more people to be present at the same time, from time to time. The count is for the premises as a whole, including staff, not just the wedding party.
Who is responsible on the day?
The statutory guidance says that when a private event is held at qualifying premises, the venue’s responsible person remains responsible – the duty does not pass to the couple, the wedding planner or anyone else running the event. You can ask suppliers and planners to help, for example by making sure their staff know your procedures, but the legal duty stays with you.
The grey area: mostly private, sometimes public
Many dedicated wedding venues also run wedding fairs, open days, Christmas parties sold by the ticket, or concerts. Those events are open to the public. Supplementary guidance document B looks at whether premises are used “wholly or mainly” for a listed purpose, and the answer depends on the facts of each venue.
We don’t think a general answer is safe here. If your venue hosts mostly private weddings but also some public events of 200 or more people, ask the SIA how the rules apply to you, and keep a record of your events and numbers so you can show how you reached your view.
What you’d need to do
- Standard tier (200 to 799): notify the SIA of the responsible person, and have evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication procedures that your staff know.
- Enhanced tier (800 or more, except places of worship): the standard duties plus public protection measures, a written document setting out your procedures and measures, and a designated senior individual where the responsible person is an organisation.
The duties are expected to start in spring 2027; the SIA will confirm the date.
Our Martyn’s Law Pack works out your tier from your busiest occasions, records your procedures and who has been briefed, and includes an SIA Notification Checklist – for halls, pubs, hotels and other venues.
See the Martyn’s Law Pack on EtsyRelated: Martyn’s Law: does it apply to your premises? · Places of worship