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| Arranging your Marriage |  | |
Please Note:
This guide is for general information only and is not a full statement of the law. Please contact your local Register Office for further information about getting married.
Fees for Weddings in Approved Premises and Register Offices
Details of fees for the period 1st April 2008 – 31st March 2009 are listed below:
Approved Premises
Monday - Thursday £260.00
Friday £290.00
Saturday £325.00
Sunday, Bank and Council Holiday £395.00 | |
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Statutory Fees for Weddings in Register Offices
Civil Marriage Ceremony £40.00
Certificate £ 3.50
(Please note that the fee for weddings in the Ceremony rooms at Atherstone and Winton House, Stratford upon Avon, is £100. From 1st November 2008, the fee for weddings in the Ceremony rooms at Nuneaton and Rugby Register Offices will be £100)
Statutory Fees for Civil Marriage Notices
Notice fee £30.00
Payable by each party to the marriage in the District of residence | |
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| Legal requirements |
Before you can marry anywhere in England or Wales, apart from a marriage in a Church of England, you must each give notice of your intention to marry, to the Superintendent Registrar of the registration district in which you each live. Once a notice is given and entered, it remains valid for one year. If you do not give notice of marriage, your marriage will not be able to take place.
You must each attend personally at the Register Office as your notice must be signed by you. You cannot ask a friend or relative to give notice of marriage for you and a fee is charged for each notice.
You must have each lived in the Registration District in England and Wales, where notice is to be given, for at least 7 days before the day you each give your notice of marriage. It does not matter if either of you moves to a different address after notice has been given.
You may not give notice of marriage more than twelve months before your marriage and not less than 15 clear days prior to the date of your marriage. You and the person you are marrying can give notice of marriage at the same time or on different days, but it is advisable not to let too many days lapse between giving notice of marriage, as your marriage cannot proceed until 15 clear days have passed in both cases.
After you have given notice, you will have to wait whilst it is publicly displayed in the Register Office for 15 days. The Superintendent Registrar will, at the end of that time and not before, issue an ‘authority’ or ‘certificate for marriage’ relating to each of you. It is these legal documents which allow your marriage to proceed in the Registration District where your marriage is to take place. Both ‘authorities’ must be valid on the day of your marriage.
If you are marrying in a Register Office or Approved Premises, it is essential to contact the Superintendent Registrar of the Registration District in which you want to marry before you give notice of marriage. This is to ensure that you may be married on the day you have chosen, in your preferred venue and the correct legal preliminaries will be effected taking into account your personal circumstances.
In Warwickshire it is usually possible to provisionally book your date of marriage two years in advance, even though you cannot yet give the legal notice of marriage, so that you can proceed to make other arrangements connected with your wedding day. The Superintendent Registrar will be pleased to advise you.
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| Documents that need to be shown |
When you give notice of marriage, you will need to bring with you documents such as passports, birth certificates and driving licence as proof of identity, address and nationality. You may also need to show change of name documents.
If either of you has been married before, either in this country or abroad, and is now divorced, you will need to show proof of your divorce. This will be a court stamped copy of the decree absolute (the final divorce paper) if either of you were divorced in England and Wales. If, however, the divorce took place anywhere other than England and Wales, the original document issued by that country and an English translation, if appropriate, would be required.
If either of you is a widow or widower, a certified copy of your late husband's or wife’s death certificate will be required. However, it is advisable to contact the Superintendent Registrar, as other documents may be required.
If you have already married each other in a foreign country you need only get married again here if there is some doubt that the marriage was legal. The marriage documents issued by that country would need to be shown when you give notice of marriage.
If either of you is under the age of 18, your parents’ or guardians’ agreement to the marriage must be produced. If your parents are divorced, a court order that gives custody to one of them must be produced. The Superintendent Registrar will advise you on this matter.
Please note that all documents produced must be originals. Photocopies are not acceptable.
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| On Your Wedding Day |
On arrival, you will be interviewed in private to check your personal details. You will each be asked your full name, age, occupation and the address of your residence at the time of marriage. You will also be asked for the full name and occupation of your natural or adoptive father. If you foresee any difficulty in providing any of the information required, you should mention this to the Registrar before the marriage ceremony.
Witnesses
You are required to nominate two people to act as witnesses. They can be friends or relatives, but they should be over the age of 16 and able to understand the ceremony. At the end of the ceremony they will be asked to sign the register.
The Registration of your Marriage
The registration of your marriage will take place immediately after the ceremony in the presence of all witnesses. When the entry has been made in the register, the Registrar will ask you whether all the particulars have been correctly recorded. It is important to check these details carefully as you may be put to some inconvenience if errors discovered later have to be rectified.
The Registrar will then call on you and your witnesses to sign the register entry. After the Superintendent Registrar and the Registrar have signed the register and you have been presented with your marriage certificate, there will be an opportunity for photographs.
Photographs & Videos
It can be very distracting if guests are taking photographs during the ceremony. We therefore request that guests refrain from taking photographs until the ceremony is completed when an opportunity to take photographs will be available. The ceremony may be videoed but you are requested to make prior arrangements with the Superintendent Registrar. For futher guidance please read our Photography Policy
Personalising your Ceremony
Whether you choose a Register Office or an Approved Venue, there are many ways in which the ceremony can be enhanced to be more personal to you. The Superintendent Registrar is able to offer a choice of vows, readings and music and as it is your special day your own suggestions will be welcome. However, please bear in mind that any enhancements to the ceremony must not have any religious connection and the Superintendent Registrar needs to be informed in advance of any planned inclusions. |