Plan and book your wedding or civil partnership ceremony
Contents
- Plan and book your wedding or civil partnership ceremony
- What happens on your wedding day
Plan and book your wedding or civil partnership ceremony
We are delighted that you are planning to hold your ceremony in Northamptonshire.
Everyone’s ceremony is special and we will help to make your day a very happy occasion for you, your family and your friends.
Select a venue
Contact your chosen approved venue for their booking process. You should make a provisional booking with the venue - but do not confirm that booking until you have booked a registrar.
Book your ceremony
We offer 3 different options to suit your requirements and budget:
A marriage or civil partnership registration
A registration is a basic legal marriage which takes place in the Registrar's office. Guests will be limited to 2 witnesses only.
This is suitable if budget is a consideration or if you would like a more compact ceremony.
The registration is delivered with the same high degree of solemnity and dignity as with all of our services and is focused on the legal requirements of a marriage.
Registrations are only available on specific weekdays.
A marriage or civil partnership ceremony
A ceremony is ideal if you want a bespoke and glamorous celebration for yourselves, family members and your guests.
The ceremony includes:
- an extensive choice of registration office ceremony rooms or any of the approved venues
- personalised ceremony content
- ceremony planning facility
- choices of readings and additional promises
- music, either from our standard collection or from your own playlist of meaningful and memorable music
- rings handed to the registrar during the ceremony by the ring bearer
Your event will last up to 60 minutes (including 30 minutes for the pre-ceremony interview).
An Intimate marriage or civil partnership ceremony
The intimate ceremony is limited to a total of 10 individuals (including the couple) and designed as a small celebration for immediate family and close friends. This ceremony takes place at East Northamptonshire House, Thrapston and is currently available on Wednesdays only.
The ceremony includes:
- personalised ceremony content
- ceremony planning facility
- choices of readings and promises
- music from the standard collection or own playlist
- exchanging of rings
The event will last up to 60 minutes (including 30 minutes for the pre-ceremony interview).
Marriage
Marriage, according to the law of this country, is the union of 2 people of the same or opposite sex voluntarily entered into for life to the exclusion of all others.
This is made by a verbal contract between 2 people and is currently recorded in a marriage register. The contract is made by the couple saying declaratory and contracting words.
A ceremony is required. You cannot currently convert a marriage to a civil partnership.
Civil partnership
A civil partnership is a written contract formed by a declaration between 2 people giving the partners similar legal rights as married couples.
The declaration can be said out loud or read by the partners before signing. No ceremony is required although one can be held after the declaration has been made.
Same and opposite-sex partners can form a civil partnership. Same-sex partners can currently convert a civil partnership into a marriage.
We recommend you seek independent advice if you are not sure whether a marriage or a civil partnership best suits your wishes.
Comparison of civil partnerships and marriage
You can choose to have a Civil partnership registration that takes place in the registrar’s office with 2 adult witnesses or choose to have a ceremony in one of our venues.
Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022
The Ministry of Justice has confirmed plans to bring a new law into effect on Monday 27 February 2023. The Act raises the age of marriage and civil partnership to 18 years in England and Wales.
This means from that date a person under 18 years of age will no longer be able to marry or enter into a civil partnership under any circumstances, including with parental or judicial consent.
How to book
We're currently experiencing issues with payments on our booking system and we're investigating urgently. We're really sorry - if you run into any issues please try again later in the day.
You will need to register an account to make a booking.
Review your contract details
Once you have completed your booking you will be sent an email confirmation with all our ceremony terms and conditions.
Please read through this carefully to ensure you are aware of all the requirements, as you agreed to these terms and conditions at the time of booking, once accepted these terms and conditions are applied.
Give your notices of marriage or civil partnership
This is a legal requirement where you book an appointment to see a registrar with key identity documents and to prove you are legally free to marry or form a civil partnership.
This must be done at least 1 month before a ceremony, however, we would recommend booking this at least 8 weeks prior to your ceremony date. It can be done up to 12 months ahead. There is a statutory fee to give notice of marriage.
Personalise your ceremony
Complete your ceremony choices by logging into your online account created at the time of booking. If you have forgotten the login details provided when booking, please email [email protected].
This lets the registrars know your order of events for the ceremony. We recommend you submit the form 8 weeks before the ceremony to let us review there are no religious references in readings or music as this is a civil ceremony and to ensure the content is solemn and dignified.
Enjoy your day!
Do not be late.
Registrars have other ceremonies to attend and if you do not start on time they may have to postpone your ceremony.
Last updated 15 April 2024