Dating | Weddings

Civil Wedding Ceremony

Holding a civil ceremony is an ideal way of getting the type of wedding you want. Basically, you can have small registry office marriage and then plan your own second ceremony, which can follow any form you like.

You have to hold the civil ceremony in legally recognised, permanently roofed premises, but you can hold your own blessing afterwards, with your guests and celebrant wherever you like. Let your imagination run riot.

This is a great chance to do something very unique and personal. Think laterally: you could choose anywhere, from an orchard to a little flotilla of boats. You could borrow chairs and make a happy grouping in your back garden, or still have a very formal affair with marques and an orchestra. It is an ideal way of getting around the restrictions of where and how to marry.

The vows in a civil wedding tend to be short, although you can add your own readings and hymns. If you are opting for a second wedding ceremony, don't forget to get involved in writing your own vows because you can say whatever you want, however you want.

First stop for a civil ceremony, is the Superintendent Registrar of the district where you wish to marry. You can be married in church, a District Register Office, an army, navy or Air Force chapel, or any building approved by the local authority. For a marriage in the approved premises, you will need to make arrangements at the venue in question and give a formal notice of your marriage to the Superintendent Registrar. Do check with your reception venue if it has a licence for wedding ceremonies - it could simplify your day hugely.

PROPER DOCUMENTATION

Some rules apply to everyone. The minimum legal age for getting married is 16 years old. In England and Wales, the written consent of the parents or guardians is required for persons who have not reached 18 years old and have not been previously married. If either of the persons is below 18 a birth certificate must be produced. You or your partner must attend the register office for the area where you live and give notice of your marriage to the Superintendent Registrar. Each partner must have lived in that district for at least seven days prior to giving notice to the Superintendent Registrar. If you live in different districts then each one of you must give notice in your district. A form giving the couple's names and addresses, ages and location of the ceremony will have to be completed, together with a declaration that there is no legal objection to the marriage. After the Superintendent Registrar has established that he can take notice of marriage, it is entered into a marriage notice book and a statutory form is displayed on a public notice board for fifteen days so that anyone who has any objection to your union can raise it.

A certificate of marriage will then issued. If notice of marriage is given in two districts, then one should be collected by the couple, as it will have to be produced before the ceremony can go ahead. The certificate of marriage is valid for one year once notice of marriage has been given.

When you visit the Superintendent Registrar to make the formal arrangements you will need to produce certain documents. For example, if you have been married before, a decree absolute of divorce bearing the court's original stamp is needed, or, if your previous spouse has died, a death certificate. Other documents may also be required depending on the circumstances (e.g. the consent of parents to a marriage where one of the partners is under the age of 18 years old).

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