A Civil Ceremony for a Wedding or Civil Partnership is a unique and wonderful way to celebrate your big day!

There are however, legalities that you should be aware of:

According to law a Civil Ceremony must be registered by an authorised Registrar at the Registry office.

You have to give notice of your intent to marry.   The timing for this is important as it has to be done early enough to enable the Register to satisfy themselves that you are eligible to marry.

The registration itself will take about 10 minutes and does not require a room to be booked, simply contact your local Registry office and request to be registered.   This normally takes place in the office of the Registrar as no room has to be booked.   You will have to provide 2 witnesses but that is all!

The Statutory Fee is £70, plus registry office fees (normally around £125 inclusive of Statutory Fee). However do check with the Registry office you wish to register at, as these costs can vary from district to district.

More detailed information can be found at the General Register Office for Scotland Website or via the Gov.UK website.