Before the ceremony starts, the Registrar or Civil Partnership Officer will need to check that the details you gave during your 'legal notice' appointment are updated. For example, you may have had a birthday, changed jobs or moved house. If preferred, each person can be interviewed separately to avoid seeing each other before the ceremony. No documentation is required at this stage.
Pre-ceremony interviews
- If you choose to be interviewed together, you will need to arrive 20 minutes before the ceremony is due to start if in one of our approved premises or 15 minutes beforehand for a Register Office ceremony.
- If you choose to be interviewed separately, the groom or partner 1 will need to arrive 30 minutes beforehand for approved premises or 20 minutes earlier for a Register Office ceremony.
- The bride or partner 2 will need to arrive 15 minutes beforehand if at an approved premise or 10 minutes earlier for a Register Office ceremony.
The bride being 'traditionally late'
Whilst it is traditional for the bride to be late, this can create a problem for the venue and for the registrar team as they often will have another wedding to go to afterwards. If there is an excessive delay, the priority would be to start the next ceremony on time. If feasible, the registrar team would then return to complete the delayed one. It is a requirement that all legal words are said by the couple before 6pm.
The regulations require that there must be no food or alcoholic drink in the ceremony room for one hour prior to the ceremony and certainly no guests will be allowed to take a drink with them into the wedding room.
Music
For civil ceremonies, your chosen music must not have any religious overtones. If you have any doubts, please contact us at the Register Office to discuss.
Music can be in the form of a CD or live, played at the following times:
- Whilst guests are arriving
- Entrance of couple/bride/partner/s
- During the signing of the Register/Schedule
- Exit of couple
Music cannot be played once the ceremony begins. If you are using one of the approved premises, please liaise direct with them regarding your music arrangements. At the Register Office, we can supply light classical music or you can supply your own CD.
If you have recorded your chosen music onto a CD we recommend that it is checked beforehand on the equipment that will be used on the day to make sure it works properly.
Photography and recording of ceremony
We are happy for a professional photographer or one designated guest to take pictures during the ceremony as long it does not become disruptive or distracts either the couple or registrar team. Using the flash is discouraged. The actual signing of the register cannot be photographed. We provide a blank register and pen for photograph posing at the end of the ceremony. Any group photography can also be done at this stage. Once the photographer is finished, we normally invite the rest of the guests to make use of their cameras. Before the ceremony, the Superintendent Registrar will discuss the arrangements with the photographer.
Video recording of the ceremony will be permitted as long as it's done in a completely unobtrusive manner without any focus on the signing of the register. Once again, the Superintendent Registrar will discuss the arrangements with the video operator before the ceremony begins.
Signing of the register or schedule
The signing of the register or schedule is done in the ceremony room. You sign with your usual signature. The bride signs in the name she normally uses before commencement of the ceremony.
Witnesses
Two principal witnesses will be required to sign the register or schedule. These may be relatives or personal friends. For a wedding, you can have more than two witnesses, normally no more than four only because there is a lack of space in the register. A child can be a witness as long as he or she can understand what the ceremony is all about. If in doubt we recommend that the child is a witness in addition to the two principal ones. A fountain pen with special registrar ink is used. Rather than fading, the ink darkens with time.
