# On Marriage and Civil Partnerships

So it turns out there's a surprising number of quirks and weirdness around marriage and civil partnerships under UK law:

- [Only same sex couples can get civil partnerships](https://www.gov.uk/marriages-civil-partnerships/overview) ([some people are trying to change this law](http://equalcivilpartnerships.org.uk/legal-challenge/))
- You can [annul a marriage](https://www.gov.uk/how-to-annul-marriage) if:
  - the person you married was pregnant at the time, and you aren't the father
  - you didn’t properly consent to the marriage (for example, you were drunk or forced into it)
  - it wasn’t consummated (that is, you haven’t had sex with the person you married since the wedding) ([opposite-sex couples only](https://www.gov.uk/how-to-annul-marriage))
  - the other person had a sexually transmitted disease when you got married ([opposite-sex couples only](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/comparison-of-civil-partnership-and-marriage-for-same-sex-couples))
- If you're getting married you [must exchange some formal wording](https://www.gov.uk/marriages-civil-partnerships/weddings-and-civil-partnership-ceremonies)
- If you're having a civil ceremony, you [can't include anything religious](https://www.gov.uk/marriages-civil-partnerships/weddings-and-civil-partnership-ceremonies)
- Via a document [comparing civil partnership and marriage for same-sex couples](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/comparison-of-civil-partnership-and-marriage-for-same-sex-couples):
  - Marriage certificates include the names of only the fathers of the parties; civil partnership certificates include both parents
  - Marriages are registered on paper, in a hard copy register; civil partnerships are recorded electronically
  - Marriage notices include the addresses of both parties; civil partnership notices do not