Marriage, in England and Wales, is legally recognised in the forms of both civil and religious unions, and is open to opposite-sex and same-sex couples. The legal minimum age to enter into a marriage in England and Wales is sixteen years, although this requires parent consent if a participant is under eighteen. There is a distinction between religious marriages, conducted by an authorised religious celebrant, and civil marriages, conducted by a state registrar. Marriage laws in England and Wales have historically evolved separately from marriage laws in other jurisdictions in the United Kingdom.