Dream Weddings Magazine - Dorset & Hampshire - issue.40

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REGISTER OFFICE
To marry at a register office or building approved
for civil ceremonies, your first step is to contact
the registrar and/or venue to confirm registrar
and date are available.
Then both bride and groom must each give
notice of the wedding in person at the register
office covering the area where they live (and
where they must have been in residence for at
least seven days).
If you both live in the same district you should
attend the register office together - but whether
you do or not, ring your local office first as many
now operate appointment systems.
Each of you will have to produce evidence of your
name, age, marital status and nationality - for
example, a current valid full passport. If you
don’t have one, you’ll need two documents - for
example a birth certificate and utility bill.
The fee for giving notice is £35 each and,
normally, notices should be with the registrar
about eight weeks before the marriage. If either of
you have been married before, the notices should
be given 10 weeks before.
The minimum period before the date of the
proposed marriage is 28 days, but if you leave
things as late as this you could be faced with the
need to postpone your marriage.
In exceptional circumstances the Registrar
General may consider waiving the waiting period.
A notice of marriage is valid for 12 months.
THE NORMAL ORDER
OF SERVICE FOR A
CHURCH WEDDING IS:
Entrance of the bride •
Hymn • The marriage • Prayers
Hymn or psalm • Blessing
Signing of the register • Recessional
LICENSED VENUES
Over the past few years since a change
in the law many thousands of venues
throughout the country have become
licensed to hold civil weddings. They range
from hotels to stately homes, zoos to football
clubs. You still have to give notice of your
intention to marry in the same way as you do
for register office weddings and, in the same
way, you can personalise the ceremony to
suit yourselves although no religious music
is allowed. Though this option costs more
than a register office ceremony - you will
have to pay for the hire of the room and it
costs more to have the registrar travel to you
- it is becoming increasingly popular as
the trend away from church weddings
continues.
The Ceremony
church or civil
Religious or civil, register office or one of the new approved
venues, a wedding can take place on any day of the week
between 8am and 6pm. While most still take place on Saturdays,
Fridays are gaining in popularity allowing guests travelling a fair
distance to make a long weekend of the celebrations.
Church Weddings
The Church of England welcomes couples
who want to marry in church whatever
their beliefs, whether or not they are
christened and whether or not they are regular
churchgoers, though same sex couples are
currently limited to civil ceremonies.
A marriage conducted in church will include
asking for God’s guidance and blessing, adding
a spiritual dimension to the ceremony which
many couples find particularly special and
moving.
Your first step is to find a church, which need
not necessarily be your local one, and arrange
an appointment with the vicar so you can get to
know him or her and complete some forms.
The vicar will explain the church fees and the
system of reading the banns.
Banns are the public announcement of your
marriage and legally must be called in church
for three Sundays during the three months
before the wedding. They have to be read in the
parish where each of you lives and also
in the church where you will
marry, if this is different.
Although the vows you make
to each other in church are
those which have been
handed down through
generations, you still have a
huge amount of influence
over the service.
You can choose your hymns
and music, readings and
what prayers you would like
and family and friends can
contribute to the service.
Marrying abroad
Second
Marriages
Though the Roman Catholic church does not
condone divorce, there are some
circumstances in which the Church of
England will marry divorced people, so it’s
worth consulting your vicar. Even if you are
limited to a civil ceremony, some ministers
will offer a Service of Blessing afterwards.
It’s important to establish early on what the
church’s policy is on photographs or video
being taken during the service, whetherany
secular music is allowed and on the throwing of
confetti within the church grounds.
Ask too about other couples marrying on the
same day as it may be possible to share the
cost of the church flowers.
Religious services in churches outside the
established Church of England require a licence
from the authorised registrar of your area and
will have different requirements, so see your
priest or minister as early as possible.
PHOTO BY ROSIE CUTBILL PHOTOGRAPHY
Combining your wedding with the holiday of a lifetime is gaining in popularity with exotic destinations luring
an increasing number of couples. The sun-kissed beaches of the Caribbean, the Maldives and Bali are
among the most popular choices and many tour operators now offer all-inclusive packages. The legal
requirements for each country may differ but generally if a marriage is recognised as legally binding in the
country in which it takes place, it will be recognised in the UK as well. Consult your tour operator and allow at
least three months for all the paperwork to be properly processed.
Planning Makes Perfect
D R E A M W E D D I N G S I N D O R S E T & H A M P S H I R E • 2 5