For civil weddings, the marriage takes place at at Register office and is conducted by a Superintendent Registrar of Marriages, who is there to help you and give you any advice or explanation you might require.

Space is more limited at a register office than in a church, so except for the required two witnesses there will be room for few other guests, although sizes of halls vary and up to 50 or 60 might be accommodated. You could therefore ask some of the guests to the ceremony and others to join them at the reception afterwards.

In order to be married at a register office you must give notice to the Superintendent Registrar of Marriages in the district where you live and where you hope to marry. Applications have to be made in person and full names of both parties, ages and addresses, occupation and marital status must be given.

On the detailed form both will have to state the period of time they have lived in the area and make a declaration that there is no legal reason why they should not be married. If either has been married previously, evidence that they are now free to re-marry should be made available.

It is stressed that the great thing to observe in a register office wedding is punctuality. Some Brides – and in these days even Grooms – feel they have a built-in right to be late. They might get away with this in a quiet church in the middle of nowhere, but in a busy register office the system only functions well with good timekeeping by everyone concerned.

If either the Bride or Groom-to-be are under 18 and this is their first marriage, consent in writing from both parents or guardians is required. Those under the age of 23 will be asked to show a birth certificate.

There are two forms of register office marriage: one is by Certificate which requires seven days residence and for which both bride and groom-to-be must give notice and one of them must have a residential qualification. If both live in the same district one Certificate will be issued. If they live in different districts there must be two applications and two certificates. Thereafter the notice of application to marry will be published by the Superintendent Registrar concerned on his or her notice board, and if no objection to the marriage is received within 21 days the Certificate or Certificates can be issued after the expiry of one clear day and the marriage can then take place.

The other form of register office wedding is by License in which case either party can give notice of the intended marriage; and one should be resident in the area for 15 days before the notice. The marriage by License enables the couple to be married within 21 days.

There are certain days in the year that do not count for the purposes of the one day expiry before a License can be issued. To find out about this and indeed to discuss all the requirements for a register office wedding, a visit to such an office is strongly recommended. Time spent in reconnaissance is never wasted!

Apart from all the legal requirements and conditions, you will be told to what extent the room where you will be married is likely to have floral decoration. Some authorities have generous funds for this purpose, others do not. If you wish to provide your own flowers you should ask about this. Be aware that it might not be possible to remove flowers because of time constraints. Instead settle on leaving them behind and take only those that could be carried or worn.

Most Superintendent Registrars are willing to allow any reasonable request by a couple to be fitted into the ceremony. Bridesmaids are acceptable, as is a Bride dressed elaborately in full white as for any Church wedding.

The article Civil weddings originally appeared on 999 Today