Ceremony options

Your ceremony in Worcestershire

Our website will take you through the various locations available either in registration offices or approved venues.

Whether you would like a simple, no fuss ceremony or a truly bespoke ceremony, our ceremonies at a glance guide will take you through the various ceremony options.

Now that you have chosen Worcestershire for your ceremony it is time to decide what sort of ceremony you would like.  The various options are listed below but if there is anything you wish to add please do not feel restricted by the content, let us know, and we can talk it through with you.

For civil partnerships the same applies as for marriage ceremonies except as there is no legal requirement for a ceremony to take place, only the signing of the civil partnership schedule, these can be followed by a non legal ceremony in the same format.

If you plan to have a religious ceremony in a Church of England or Church of Wales church, you will not require registrars.

If you plan to have a ceremony in a non conformist religious venue, you may need to book a registrar to register the ceremony, if the venue has no authorised person available to do this on the day of your marriage or civil partnership. You will still need to give your notices of marriage or civil partnership. Please check with your venue.

What happens at your civil marriage ceremony?

We want you to have a day to remember but, as with most special events there are some things that we need to ensure happens.

On the day you must bring two people with you to be witnesses to your marriage who must be able to understand and speak English. You can choose any relative or friend as long as they are old enough to understand what is taking place.

Before the ceremony is due to commence, we will need to check the details taken at the time of the notice of marriage, which appears on the marriage schedule. Please refer to your ceremony booklet for details and arrive 30 minutes beforehand for your separate interviews. Please be aware that other ceremonies may be booked around yours, so it is important that you arrive on time to ensure that your ceremony can take place.

The ceremony time will vary dependent on the type of ceremony you have chosen so can be up to 45 minutes in duration.

Every marriage will include;

• the registrar will welcome everyone to the ceremony
• the legal definition of marriage and of the vows made to each other
• you will declare that you are free to marry (a declaration)
• you will make a contract with each other (contracting words)
• you may exchange rings and make promises
• you and your witnesses will sign the legal marriage schedule

There will be an opportunity for photographs.

The above is only a very brief outline of the skeleton of a marriage ceremony. The options on the following pages will show you how you can enhance or make your ceremony bespoke …… happy planning!

What happens at your civil partnership formation?

Civil partnerships are slightly different in that there is no formal ceremony as part of your formation.

The law just requires you to sign a civil partnership schedule (legal contract). If however you wish to have a ceremony, we can arrange and talk this through with you.

As with marriage ceremonies you will need to bring two people with you to be witnesses to your civil partnership who must be able to understand and speak English. You can choose any relative or friend as long as they are old enough to understand what is taking place.

Please arrive at least 30 minutes before the formation is due to commence as we will need to check the details taken at the time of the notice of civil partnership which appear on the civil partnership schedule, with each party separately.

Should you wish to have a celebration of your civil partnership then we can offer a ceremony to celebrate your union as civil partners. Use the following pages to provide ideas that will make your ceremony one to remember.

There will be an opportunity for photographs.

Please see our Ceremonies at a glance for all of your options, from a no fuss Statutory legal ceremony to your personalised Bespoke service