I just learned that in New York a clergy person may be fined "not less
than fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars" or "be
incarcerated for not more than one year" for presuming to officiate at
a wedding without the required civil registration. I know other states
have similar laws. I don't know if they are ever enforced.
Hypothetical conversation up the river at Sing-Sing:
"What are you in for, bub?"
"Murder, armed robbery, arson and aggravated assault, money laundering
and drug dealing... and you?"
"Me? Two counts of jay walking and one of marrying two people without
a license - I'm innocent, I tell ya'."
"Yeah, Mack. Me, too."
Perhaps they can do a movie: Marryin' Sam of Alcatraz.
……………
I knew the marriage laws of England and Wales well (Scotland has its own marriage laws). I just looked and it seems that these changed since my stint in Wales. Time was when it would have been illegal for me to have officiated at a marriage outside the hours of 8 am and 6 pm. That no longer applies except to the Church of England -- in which case it is not only a violation of canon law, but is a civil
infraction (there is still an established church in England, but not in Wales). The law still requires that all marriages be recorded in black ink. I doubt that anybody, however, has been sent to the Tower of London for using blue ink.