Civil Wedding Ceremonies

Many people have no religious belief or commitment and have no desire to be married in any church or faith, and for those who have been divorced, a religious ceremony might be difficult, or even impossible, to arrange.

Only the civil part of a ceremony is necessary to make a marriage legal, and there are a number of different ways in which this can be arranged. The ceremony itself may take place in either a register office, or at an approved licensed venue.

Register Office

A marriage ceremony can take place at the offices of the local Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths in a specially designated Marriage Room. Registrars will make sure that the room is welcoming and attractive, and will usually allow additional floral decorations to be brought in, poetry readings and the playing of taped music, if you ask in advance. However, all the readings and music that you choose must be entirely secular.

Most Marriage Rooms hold around 40-50 people, some more, and there will be a walkway between guests' chairs which serves as an aisle. In addition, there will be a table displaying flowers or other decoration, behind which the registrar will stand to conduct the ceremony.

Licensed Venues

Since 1995, when the 1994 Marriage Act (England and Wales) became law, civil marriage ceremonies have not been restricted to register offices. Any building approved for civil marriage can be used, regardless of where the couple live.

The venue has to be approved by the local authority; it must be a permanent structure, and must have public access. It is still not possible to hold legal ceremonies out of doors, in marquees or in private homes. There are hundreds of different licensed venues throughout the country ranging from stately homes, castles, and hotels, to football grounds and even zoos!

Almost every licensed venue will be able to offer you a complete wedding package, with catering, flowers and music, so there is no need to move to a different place for the reception after the ceremony. There may also be overnight accommodation available for the guests - with a bridal suite for you!

You can search for licensed premises on the General Register Office website (details in our Useful Resources Section ). Alternatively, contact your local register office.

Arranging Approval for a Venue

If you have a particular venue at which you would like to marry that is not licensed, you could ask the owner to consider an application. The venue owner would have to approach the local council, each of which has its own set of restrictions and application process.

In general, the venue must fulfil the following standard requirements:

1. It must be a seemly and dignified venue for the solemnisation of marriages.
2. It must be regularly available to the public for use for the solemnisation of marriages.
3. It must have suitable fire precautions.
4. The premises must have no recent or continuing connection with any reli...

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