Civil Weddings
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Arranging the ceremony
The earlier you set your date the better, as some days of the year are very popular. Sundays and weekdays are increasingly becoming popular days for your ceremony to take place to ensure that family and friends can be present. Once you have booked the date and time with your chosen venue, contact the Superintendent Registrar of the district in which the premises are situated, to ensure the registrars are available to conduct and register the marriage. This can be arranged up to one year ahead of the marriage day.
Designing your day
The Superintendent Registrar will issue you with a marriage planner a few months before the wedding day and arrange a meeting with you to discuss details such as the bridal entrance and seating arrangements in the marriage room. There is a core element that must be spoken to ensure the marriage is lawfully solemnised. The civil ceremony is laid down in the Marriage Acts and you are required to make two statements. One is the declaratory statement and the other is a contracting statement. The Superintendent will discuss which of a choice of statements you prefer. You can personalise the ceremony and are entitled to add your own vows, choice of music and poetry or readings. This is the case if your wedding is at a Register Office or a licensed venue and at the discretion of the Superintendent Registrar and must be approved well in advance of the wedding.
By definition civil weddings are non-religious ceremonies and the law prevents the use of any religious music or readings. However, two wedding marches are permitted – Mendelssohn and Wagner.