Marriages and Civil Partnerships in England
From the 19 July there is no legal limit on attendees. However, please note that the number of people able to attend a wedding or civil partnership ceremony will depend on how many people can be safely accommodated within the venue with adequate ventilation, and where the venue manager has carried out a risk assessment and taken all reasonable measures to limit the risk of transmission of COVID-19. Please liaise with your venue regarding covid room capacities.
As is currently the case, the number allowed to attend includes the couple, witnesses, and guests, but those working, such as registration officials and venue managers are not included.
There is no legal requirement to wear a face covering, however we would encourage guests to continue to wear one, to use track and trace, the hand sanitiser available and to respect social distancing with our colleagues.
The number of attendees permitted in our ceremony rooms have been agreed taking adequate ventilation into account are:
- Bloxam Room, Rugby - 41 guests
- Henley Room, Stratford - 31 guests
- Pageant House, Warwick - 40 guests
- Riversley Park - 41 guests
- Register Office, Warwick - 2 witnesses only
The registrars and couple are not included in these figures.
Guidance may change, and we plan to issue updates as and when any changes are published. Further details are available at GOV.UK.
Changes to Marriage Ceremonies from 4 May 2021
The Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration Etc.) Act will come into force on 4 May 2021.
The Act provides for the modernisation of marriage registration for the first time since 1837, by introducing a marriage schedule system and registration in an electronic register.
Paper marriage registers will no longer be used by Registrars attending Civil ceremonies or be used for ceremonies taking place at churches and places of worship. You will no longer receive a handwritten marriage certificate at the ceremony.
