Marriage ceremonies

Marriage ceremonies

Where you can marry

A civil marriage ceremony can take place in any register office or at any venue that has been approved to hold a civil marriage. Approved premises include stately homes and other prestigious buildings, hotels and restaurants. Since 1 July 2021, it's possible to have all elements of the ceremony conducted outdoors at these venues (previously, they had to take place indoors).

Adding personal touches

Although you cannot incorporate any religious content into a civil marriage ceremony, you may be able to arrange to have individual touches such as non-religious music and/or readings, and for the wedding to be videoed. The superintendent or district registrar at the register office for the district in which you intend to marry will be able to tell you more about the options available.

Please note: on the day of the wedding you will need to bring with you at least two other people who are prepared to witness the marriage and sign the marriage register.

How much does it cost to get married?

The costs of giving notice, getting married, and getting a marriage certificate or an extract of the entry in the register of marriages vary depending on where you are registering.

For Scotland see:

For Northern Ireland see:

For England and Wales see:

Cost of a ceremony on approved premises - the cost for attendance by the superintendent registrar and registrar is set by the local authority in question. A further charge is likely to be made by the owners of the building for the use of the premises.

Cost of religious ceremony in an Anglican church – check fees with the vicar of the church in which you are planning to marry.

Cost of religious ceremony at a building other than an Anglican Church - unless the building has an Authorised Person - there will be a fee for the registrar and there may be further fees charged by the trustees of the building and the person who performs the ceremony. You should check with the minister of faith/religion or the local registrar for confirmation.

Scotland

There are statutory fees set down for both civil and religious marriages and details of these can be found above.

There could be additional charges to meet the cost of the use of local authority facilities for the purposes of a civil marriage. If you wish to marry at an approved place then there may be an additional charge to have the authorised registrar attend there.

If you are to have a religious ceremony then you should ask the religious celebrant what fees will be charged.

There is a charge for obtaining a copy of the marriage certificate itself.

Ceremony in Welsh or Gaelic

It is possible for a marriage ceremony to be conducted in Welsh (if in Wales) or Gaelic (if in Scotland). Where the ceremony is to be in Welsh or Gaelic only, both you and your partner, your witnesses and the person conducting the marriage must be able to understand what is being said. You don't have to have given notice in Welsh or Gaelic in order for the marriage to be conducted in that language.

Marriage certificate

You will receive your marriage certificate straight after the ceremony. If at any stage you require another copy, you can apply online or via a register office, in person, by post or fax.

Copyright © 2024 Epoq Group Ltd. All trademarks acknowledged, all rights reserved

This website is operated by Epoq Legal Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 3707955, whose registered office is at 2 Imperial Place, Maxwell Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, WD6 1JN. Epoq Legal Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA number 645296).

Our use of cookies

We use necessary cookies to make our site work. We would also like to set some optional cookies. We won't set these optional cookies unless you enable them. Please choose whether this site may use optional cookies by selecting 'On' or 'Off' for each category below. Using this tool will set a cookie on your device to remember your preferences.

For more detailed information about the cookies we use, see our Cookie notice.

Necessary cookies

Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.

Functionality cookies

We'd like to set cookies to provide you with a better customer experience. For more information on these cookies, please see our cookie notice.