Same-sex marriage in England and Wales was legalized by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in July 2013 and took effect on 13 March 2014; with the first same-sex marriages taking place on 29 March 2014. However same sex marriages are not permitted in many churches across the UK and the rest of the world.
The Church of England does not carry out same-sex marriages, despite many petitions for the rule to be changed. However, many Methodist churches across the UK follow different rules.
The Methodist Church is Britain's fourth largest Christian denomination with about 164,000 members across more than 4,000 churches. And, in 2021 a vote to change the definition of marriage at the Methodist Conference overwhelmingly passed by 254 in favour with 46 against.