HAPPY couples can swap cufflinks for handcuffs at one of Brighton’s newest wedding venues.

Instead of the peeling of church bells, brides and grooms can hear the clinking of jail cells after The Old Police Cells Museum was granted a wedding licence.

It is one of three new venues at Brighton Town Hall where couples can tie the knot, along with the mayor’s parlour and council chamber.

It will mean that couples can choose from six venues at Brighton Town Hall in addition to the 40-plus licensed sites approved by the council across the city.

The registry office, which was recently named the same-sex marriage capital of the country after conducting the most ceremonies since March, will be showing off its latest offerings at a special extended-hours event tomorrow with couples able to view the venues between 5pm and 7pm.

A second showcase of Brighton Town Hall wedding venues will be held on Thursday, October 23, at the same times.

The town hall venues range from intimate affairs held in the office of the council’s senior registrar Trevor Love for only a handful of people to a maximum of ten in the newly renamed Fitzherbert room, 50 guests in the Regency Room, with slightly fewer in the police cells. The largest venue on offer is now the council chamber.

Mr Love said: “I suppose [the cells museum] would be for a more quirky wedding. I was speaking to one of the ex-police officers who volunteers there and they said they could dress up in old uniforms if the couple wanted or the couple could be handcuffed through the ceremony, although I would be worried it would make exchanging the rings difficult."

Mr Love said the increase in venues would boost the city’s businesses, estimating that about 40% of weddings held by the registry service involve couples from outside the city.

For more information on getting married in Brighton and Hove, visit brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/community-and-life-events/births-deaths-and-marriages/ marriage.