Ceremony Essentials

Your wedding ceremony can and should reflect your beliefs and values, whatever they are. It may be religious, but doesn't have to be and it can be longer than a five minute civil ceremony.

There is no magic formula for the perfect marriage ceremony and there are many routes to explore apart from the religious. Interfaith, humanist, pagan or purely personal. What you decide will depend on your personal beliefs and other influences, but to be legally married in the UK, there are various obligations you must fulfil.

RELIGIOUS MARRIAGE CEREMONIES
In England and Wales, if you have an Anglican wedding the minister will act on behalf of the state so you don't have to involve the local registrar.

For all other religious wedding ceremonies you will need to give formal notice to a registrar before your marriage can take place. Many churches will be able to do this for you and arrange things with the registrar, but you should check.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland the celebrant is licenced to conduct a marriage ceremony almost anywhere but notice must still be given to the registrar.

For more information on religious wedding ceremonies contact your own religious organisation.

CIVIL MARRIAGE CEREMONIES
In England and Wales if you don't want to marry in church you will either have to attend a Register Office or have your ceremony conducted by a registrar at an approved venue.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland you can marry in existing approved premises or apply for temporary approval of a venue of your own choice.

You can access all the legal information from the General Register Office for England and Wales, for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

You may be considering a civil partnership which can be registered in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland at a register office or in licensed premises. Have a look at our special Civil Partnerships section.

Whether your ceremony is in church, a register office or an approved venue, fees are charged for the notice of marriage, for the service and for a copy of the marriage certificate. Up to date costs can be found on the relevant websites.

ALTERNATIVE CEREMONIES
A wedding ceremony is steeped in tradition, often its very spiritual - a unique and deeply personal committment to one another. Once you have fulfilled your legal committments there's tremendous scope for personalising your dream day.

If it's a second marriage, you may be having a blessing in church or chapel after the civil ceremony.

You may want to arrange your own wedding or commitment ceremony and you could ask a friend to conduct it or find a Celebrant to help you.

You may decide on a pagan handfasting or having a renewal of vows.

Get some tips and ideas from our eco chic couple's stories.