@Beatlemania, thank you for the info! I understand a lot of things have changed in the rules since 2013, but the bulk of things seem to be the same. The folks at the chapel have confirmed that:
- we do need the special license, since the chapel is associated with an academic institution and doesn't have the usual local "catchment area"
- the license supersedes the need to read banns or otherwise abide by the standard waiting period
- we both need to meet with the bishop's assistant, in person [1]
A UK immigration lawyer friend-of-a-friend informally advised us that we should both be applying for marriage visitor visas as well in this case. No one has so far been able to advise on whether the visas are necessary before we apply for the license (which can be done by mail), only before we visit for the interview (i.e. whether that constitutes giving notice), or only before we actually get married.
Given the hefty fees as you describe, this thicket of red tape, the unavoidable cost of at least one visit to the UK (and the possibility that we will have to remain in the UK for several weeks on that visit), it is looking like we will probably have to get legally married in the US and visit the UK for a blessing.
1: Googling around hints that this is to a) confirm everything on the application is true, as in your case, and b) satisfy the Home Office that we're not doing an end-run around the visa rules (which honestly I don't see how we could, since neither of us is a UKC or has any other right to remain in the UK)
Glad to hear that you are getting some answers. We did both meet with the bishop's assistant, it was only my husband to had to make the oath. Our meeting did not take long at all. Hopefully with a special licence you won't be required to have such a long waiting period.
As you say, you do need a visa in order to enter the country and I am afraid that I just do not know when you need to apply/if you need a visa before applying for the licence. It may be something that can be issued quickly once you are in the country on a Marriage Visitor's Visa (you would include correspondence with the details of your pre-arranged appointment in your visa application). If it is something for which you can apply by post then you may not need to have the visa first. I simply don't know.
I recall it being a hefty fee but, then again, I was a poor grad student with a loan at the time so everything was hefty. It wasn't more than a couple hundred dollars (certainly much less than I have paid for subsequent visas). All that being said, it is so much easier to marry in the US (or elsewhere). You can still honeymoon in Scotland if you don't marry over here with the added benefit that you don't need a visa before you travel! Good luck with whichever route you choose.
