WeddingNotts.co.uk - Getting Married in Nottinghamshire

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Your wedding day should be an harmonious blend of ceremony and celebration. A marriage is a public declaration in front of witnesses of your mutual love, respect and commitment to life together. It should reflect your beliefs and values as well as your dreams and you will need to make some very important decisions before you start.

Firstly, all marriages are governed by the law of the land. So for any marriage to be legal both of you must comply with certain conditions:

a) You must both be a minimum age of 16 years old and in England and Wales parental / guardian consent is needed for anyone to marry between the ages of 16 and 18 years.

b) You must both be free to marry and have no existing legal marriage bond.

c) There must be no close family relationship or blood ties such as brother and sister or father and daughter between you and your partner.

d) The marriage must take place indoors in a registered building - that is a religious venue, register office or newly licensed private venue in the region.

e) The marriage must take place before a registrar or authorised person.

f) The ceremony must take place in the presence of two witnesses who must be able to speak and understand English.

g) The ceremony must take place between the hours of 8am and 6pm.

Currently the law in England and Wales does not permit certain venues or outdoor weddings but plans are to change this in accordance with Scottish rules.

Secondly, you should choose the type (or combination) of wedding ceremony that reflects both your beliefs and complies with the legal requirements -


	1.	Religious ceremony
	2.	Non-religious or Civil ceremony
	3.	Combination of Civil ceremony and Service of Prayer and Dedication (Marriage Blessing)
	4.	Combination of Civil and Humanist ceremonies

Remember that each type of ceremony has its own conditions and criteria to meet as well as the legal ones and you should discuss these more fully with your chosen officiant or registrar.

The Anglican Church is the Church of England and you are therefore entitled to marry in the Parish church where one or other of you lives. It may be possible to marry at a church outside your parish of residence where you are either a regular worshipper or by Special Licence. It is not normally possible to have your church wedding in other venues such as a hotel. Non religious venues are usually only licensed for civil ceremonies.

Once you have decided on a church wedding make an appointment to meet with the parish priest to discuss your plans and ensure your chosen date is available.

As well as the legal conditions already laid down you must also publicly announce your intention to marry. In the Anglican Church this is done by having banns read out in church for three Sundays during the three months before the wedding. This is often done over three consecutive Sundays but does not have to be. Banns are a chance for anyone to put forward a reason why the marriage may not lawfully take place. Banns need to be read in the parish where each of you lives as well as at the church in which you are to be married if that is another parish.

You may choose a modern language service or one with more traditional vows. The vows contain the wording that make marriage a legal contract and therefore cannot be changed. By saying your vows in church you both commit to the legal state of marriage with God and the congregation as your witnesses. The minister does not 'marry you'; you marry each other. The minister just directs you in this and then tells everyone that you have done it properly. After you have exchanged your vows, the bride, groom and two witnesses must sign the register. This is also a legal requirement and the minister will give you a copy of the marriage certificate.

Though the wording of the ceremony is fixed there are parts of the service that can be personalised such as in the choice of hymns, music and readings. You can also involve family members or friends in the service. A ring is given and received as a symbol of the everlasting nature of your marriage commitment and you can choose whether to have one or two rings.

The Church of England teaches that marriage is for life and re-marriage in church is solely at the discretion of the parish priest. Normally if either of the couple has been previously divorced then the priest may offer a Service of Prayer and Dedication following a legal civil ceremony. You must discuss your wishes with your priest.

The legal fees for a marriage in church cover the publication of the banns, certificate of banns (if necessary), the marriage service and a certificate of marriage. These fees are fixed centrally and will cost between £170 and £250. These fees do not cover any extras you may wish to have for the service, such as a choir, organist, bell-ringers, special lighting, fees for video recording and so on. Please check with your parish priest.

We will be including details of other religious ceremonies as soon as we can.

For a civil ceremony you can be married in any register office with a marriage room or approved premises in England or Wales. As with a religious ceremony you must first give formal notice of your intention to marry. Giving notice will require each of you to attend in person at the register office in whose district you reside. Your notices of marriage are displayed on the notice board at the register office for a period of fifteen days. A legal document covered by the Perjury Act 1911, a notice of marriage states the names of the people to be married, age, marital status, address, occupation, nationality and the intended venue for the marriage. After giving notice you must then wait a further sixteen days before the marriage can take place - for example, if notice is given on 1 July, the ceremony can take place on or after 17 July. Once given, your notice is valid for 12 months.

The following conditions apply if you give notice at least 15 days in advance of your wedding date:

You must both have lived in any registration district in England or Wales for a minimum of 7 days immediately before the day on which you give notice in that district(s).

If you live in different registration districts to each other, you must each give notice in your own district of residence.

If you choose to marry outside your district(s) of residence, you should first contact the office for the district where you wish to marry to check availability of dates.

Once you have given notice you must wait a minimum of 15 complete days (whilst the notice is publicly displayed at the register office) before the marriage can take place.

If marrying out of your district(s) of residence, you must collect a marriage authority (or authorities) from your district register office(s), after the statuary waiting period has expired.

These documents (one for each of you) are the legal authorisation for your marriage to proceed and must be delivered to the Superintendent Registrar of the district in which you are to be married, before the day of your wedding.

You will also need to show the Superintendant Registrar documentary evidence of your name, age and nationality - ideally in the form of your passport. If you have been married before, you will also need to produce documents that confirm that you are now free to marry. These could include either a divorce decree absolute bearing the court's original stamp or the death certificate of your former husband or wife.

Most register offices will also accept a provisional booking up to 12 months in advance. This can be done by letter, personal visit or by telephone. To make a provisional booking you should contact the register office in whose district you wish to be married. At this stage you will be advised about giving notice to the office(s) in whose district(s) you reside.

The cost for a marriage at a register office is £37.50.
There is also a £30 statutory fee for each person giving notice of marriage (£60 per couple).

The number and type of approved venues in Nottinghamshire is steadily increasing, from hotels and golf clubs to stately homes and places of historical interest. Further details can be found at the end of this section.

The legal requirements for getting married at an approved venue are the same as those for getting married at a register office, but the attendance of a Registrar also needs to be arranged. To arrange a wedding at an approved premises, you must first get in touch with the venue to make a provisional booking. You should then contact the register office in the district where the premises is located to ensure that the Registration Officer can attend your wedding.

Notice of your marriage is given at the register office in the district(s) where you live, not where the venue is situated (unless of course you live in the same district). Once you have been issued with your Marriage Authority this should be forwarded to the Superintendent Registrar in the registration district covering your venue for their records.

Notice can be given up to twelve months before your wedding date and the earlier you plan the more chance you have of getting your chosen date and venue. In addition to the standard fees for a civil wedding there is a further fee payable to the Registrar for getting married at approved premises.

Licensed venues have a greater flexibility than register offices regarding the times that ceremonies can be held. The available times are between 8am and 6pm on any day but this will be down to the individual venue.

Before you view any premises take time to think about what you want and make a list of questions to ask and take a notebook with you when visiting venues for jotting down any relevant points.

To purchase a copy of the full list of approved venues in England and Wales please contact the General Register Office (Local Services Section) on +44 (151) 471 4817. The cost is £5 and you will be required to give your debit or credit card details over the phone. Alternatively you can write to the GRO at the following address enclosing a cheque or postal order for the same amount made payable to ONS.

Local Services
General Register Office
PO Box 56
Southport
PR8 2GL

The General Register Office website contains further detailed information. Please click here ›

This religious service of dedication (often called a 'Marriage Blessing') is available for couples who have already undergone a civil marriage ceremony and who wish to dedicate to God their life together. Because it is not a marriage service banns may not be called nor any entry made into the Register of Marriages. Also, no exchange of rings will take place during this service. It is possible to include a prayer of blessing for the ring with the hand extended to the minister at this time.

Humanism is the belief that people can live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs. A humanist wedding is therefore very personal and individual, can take place anywhere (including outdoor venues) and be designed to suit the marrying couple. It may be as dignified and serious as a church wedding, but with the religious element replaced by words and music that have real meaning for them both. The couple can write their own vows and therefore be as romantic and creative in designing their ceremony as they wish. Such couples regard the humanist ceremony with its very personal terms of commitment as that which truly makes them husband and wife.

However it does NOT form a marriage contract in the legal sense. To validate this marriage under English law the couple must also attend a Register Office, sometimes a day or two before the humanist ceremony, to deal with the legal formalities and obtain a civil marriage certificate. It is not necessary to exchange rings at the Register Office and this can be incorporated into the Humanist ceremony instead.

The British Humanist Association has a network of accredited officiants (or celebrants) who are qualified to conduct humanist wedding ceremonies. Celebrants will discuss fees at the first meeting. The amount may vary depending on the time needed, distances travelled but you will typically pay between £200 and £300 – more if the celebrant has to travel some distance.