Civil Marriage License
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For civil marriages or civil partnerships in the north west, you can attend a register office in the north west, or an approved north west wedding venue.
If you wish to have a religious ceremony other than in the Church of England or Church in Wales, but in one of the many beautiful wedig venues in the North West instead, you should usually:
- first arrange to see the person in charge of marriages at the building
- normally live in the same district as the church or religious building
- give formal notice to the superintendent registrar at your local register office unless one of you is subject to immigration control
You will need to bring at least two other people who can sign as witnesses at your wedding.
To find out more about giving notice read the Marriage and civil partnership: your legal obligations article here
Civil marriages and civil partnerships
A north west civil marriage ceremony or civil partnership can take place in any north west register office, or at any north west wedding venue approved by the local authority. These include stately homes and other prestigious buildings, hotels and restaurants.
You will first need to formally give notice of marriage or notice of civil partnership.
On the day of your marriage or civil partnership, you will need to bring at least two other people who can sign as witnesses.
A civil marriage ceremony cannot have any religious content, but you may be able to arrange for individual touches such as non-religious music and readings to be added to the legal wording, and for the ceremony to be videoed. The register office where you intend to marry will be able to tell you more about the options available.
A Civil Partnership is legally formed by the signing of the civil partnership schedule. Like a civil marriage, this is also non-religious, but couples who wish to arrange for a ceremony should discuss this with the registration officials.
Welsh speaking marriages and civil partnerships
You can marry or form a civil partnership in Welsh in any place in which the Welsh language is commonly used. Both yourselves, your witnesses and the person conducting the marriage should be able to understand what is being said. You don’t have to have given notice in Welsh.
Giving notice of marriage and civil partnerships
It is a legal requirement to give notice in advance of any marriage or civil partnership. Your wedding notice is publicly displayed for fifteen days, after which the authority for your marriage or civil partnership can be granted. Each notice is valid for one year, but if you decide to change wedding venue, new notices must be given.
If you are getting married in the Church of England or Church in Wales, then you do not usually have to give notice of marriage.
If you are having a civil marriage or civil partnership, you both need to go to your local register office to give notice. If you plan holding your marriage or civil partnership in a different area, you should also contact the local register office for that area before you give notice, to ensure that officials will be available on the day.
You both must give notice in person - no one else can do it on your behalf.
If you are giving notice in Wales, you may give this in English, or in English and Welsh. If notice is to be given bilingually, both the couple giving notice and the officer must be able to understand the Welsh language. All local authorities in Wales have at least one Welsh speaking officer or deputy.
Before you give notice, you should make sure that you are able to satisfy the laws concerning residency and immigration control.
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