Choices of venue
You can have your ceremony at a register office, approved premises, religious building or in special circumstances you may be able to have it in an alternative location.
Cost
Register offices and other approved premises
We recognise that couples wish to make arrangements for their wedding as early as possible and we therefore operate a provisional booking system that allows ceremonies to be booked up to two years in advance.
Civil marriage and civil partnership ceremonies can take place in a variety of buildings approved by local authorities.
Religious buildings
The regulations for marrying by religious ceremony are different to those for civil marriage ceremonies.
Other venues due to special circumstances
Marriages can take place in hospitals, private houses or any other place, but only in very special circumstances. This includes a situation where one of the couple to be married is housebound, imprisoned or so ill that they cannot travel to be married.
Extra documents are required in these circumstances, such as a doctor's statement.
For specific advice contact the superintendent registrar at your local register office: Register offices
In another country
Contact the marriage authority in the country where you wish to marry. Some travel agents have experience of the procedures required and can be a good source of information.
If the foreign marriage authorities ask for a Certificate of No Impediment you can apply for this at your local register office. Conditions for obtaining a Certificate of No Impediment vary depending on the country where the ceremony is to be held and the nationality of the couple to be married.
Contact your local register office for advice: Register offices