Weddings, Handfasting & Commitment Ceremonies

Love the idea of an Independent Celebrant led Ceremony? Join the club! For couples getting Married or opting for a Civil Partnership, you must follow the formal legal registration process to make your commitment lawfully binding. The good news is that you won’t have to double up on your budget and pay for another full Registrar led Ceremony at your local Register Office, you can simply opt for a basic legal Statutory registration (which is essentially signing the legal paperwork) and have the Celebrant Ceremony you dreamed of. 

1. Contact your local Register Office and request a ‘basic’ Statotory Marriage or Civil Partnership registration, (without the full ‘pomp and ceremony’). This process usually costs around £60-£120 as opposed to the full Registrar's Ceremony fee which ranges from around £550 to over £1200 depending on where you live.
2. You must adhere to the legal requirements outlined by the Registrar, entering a notice of Marriage or Civil Partnership. Notices can be given up to 12 months ahead of your ceremony. Your Register Office will usually require you to give at least 6 weeks (but may recommend giving notice at least 3 to 4 months) notice before your ceremony. You must give notice at a Register Office in the district where you live, regardless of where your ceremony is taking place. You will both need to attend an short interview to get the legal paperwork, and present various forms of identification. If you have been Married or enterend into Civil Partnership before, you will also need to present your Decree Absolute. or proof of Dissolution Order.
3. You can then book a legal registration (subject to your Register Offices availability) forming the legal binding contract in the presence of 2 witnesses who you will need to bring with you. You will not need to exchange rings or personal vows as this will be done at your Celebrant Ceremony.   

This information is subject to change. You must speak to your local Council Register Office for full and current details and to establish your nearest Register Office that offers basic Statutory registration.  

Not a problem! Most Regiser offices will only offer random midweek appointment slots for legal Marriage or Civil Partnership registrations, so most couples choosing Independent Celebrant Ceremonies, often try to book their legal registration either a few days before or after their actual 'big day', however it is no unusual for some couples to do the legal registration weeks, months or even years before or after their Ceremony and Wedding day. The only thing that changes if you are not completing the legal papertwork until after your Wedding, is that your chosen Celebrant cannot lawfully pronounce you ‘Married’ during the Ceremony.  In this instance, Celebrants simply ‘tweak’ the words they weave into the service, for example, introducing you as the Happy Couple, rather than Husband and Wife, allowing you to still have your chosen Celebrant Wedding Ceremony, even if you are not yet lawfully married, giving you so much freedom around when, where and what time you want to have your Ceremony.

Nope!...unless you want them to,  but as every couple considers their 'actual wedding or commitment' to be the date they have their Celebrant Ceremony, rock their wedding outfits, and light up the dancefloor at the after party, most couples dont feel the need to mention this at all. Afterall, the Ceremony itself (rather than the legal form filling) is where the  real magic happens and that is the date that everyone remembers and celebrates