Civil Weddings & The Law

When deciding to marry, there are certain requirements that must be adhered to. The law states that the legal contract of marriage must take place in either; a church, other religious place of worship, or a formal registered place which can be in the form of a registry office or other licensed venue such as a hotel or castle. The later are known as civil ceremonies.

You are able to hold your marriage celebrations in an unregistered place but to do this you must also have an additional service in a registry office or legally registered place to make the marriage legally binding.

Different venues will talk to the couple about different requirements to enable them to marry in that specific place; however there are some general rules that must be abided by every couple when choosing a civil ceremony.

1. If resident in England or Wales the couple must live in a registered district for a minimum of 7 days prior to giving notice.
2. A notice of 15 days must be given before a ceremony can take place, but please note that notice cannot be given more than 12 months before the date of the wedding.
3. The marriage must be performed by a superintendent registrar or person who has the legal right to marry people.
4. To enable a legally binding marriage there must be 2 persons over the age of 16 to sign and witness the marriage taking place.
5. The ceremony must be completely secular with no religious reference, if the couple wish to use music, poetry or certain vows these must be submitted and checked before the wedding day to ensure no religious content is included.
6. Vows and certain wording must be used to ensure the marriage is a legally binding contract, the superintendent will advise you of these words when giving notice.
7. The marriage must take place between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
8. The bonus side is that you may wear anything to marry in a civil ceremony and people wear anything from the traditional bridal dress to normal everyday clothes.

The law is constantly changing in terms of marriage, and therefore it is always wise to check things in advance so that the necessary arrangements can be made.

In recent years changes have been made in terms of marriage and partnership for gay and lesbian couples. The House of Lords passed the Civil Partnership Bill into Law on the 17th November 2004, which then received Royal Ascent on the 18th November 2004.

The act allows gay and lesbian couples to commit to one another in the eyes of the law with a Commitment Ceremony, which is performed by a Registrar in a civil ceremony. It is always important to keep up to date with legal requirements to ensure the smooth running of things on the day. That way once all the paperwork and legalities are dealt with, you can begin the planning of all the other things to make it a day to remember!

Weddings-With-Style Tip:

Before you see the registrar to give notice of marriage, check what documentation will need to be produced, and also check with the venue and registrar to see about any other requirements, including what the current fees are and remember to include these within your budget.