Venting about Bury St Edmunds registry office

I never thought it would be so difficult to get married at the registry office! I called Ipswich registry to inquire about how we get married there. I was told to call Bury St Edmunds registry. I did , and I got the chance to speak to the devil herself at the office! She was just so rude and awful, I dont know if she had an "issue" about me being american or she was just having a bad day, but she said we need to go there pay 60 quid to give notice and get a certifiate of approval, after explaining to her I dont need one of those since I got a fiancee visa,she snapped back saying how I still needed to pay 60 quid,then 15 days later we can go to Ipswich registry and pay another 37quid to get married. Then when I asked what documents we needed, I explained to her that my fiancee doesnt have a passport or a drivers license but he does have a full birth certificate, she said very rudly "he is over 18 isnt he???why doesnt he have a drivers license or a provisional license???
"  It took everything I had not to tell her where to go and what to do with herself once she gets there.
  I wish Id known getting married at the registry office was this difficult. 

Thanks for letting me vent, I needed to let that out

sorry to hear you had to deal with a radther rude person...unfortunately that's just someone having a bad day and deciding that if they are having a bad day they will make others suffer. To be honest I would write an anonimous letter of complaint to the council.


Registery offices work differently we were married at Chelsea and they were excellent.


good luck

I don't know what is up with some registrars! We met a really rude one when we went to give notice in Islington and we met another US-UK couple there who'd encountered some rudeness as well. Luckily we got married in Swansea and they couldn't have been nicer.   I can't believe she asked if you fiance was over 18! Lots of people don't drive in the UK - I don't.

I have a friend stationed at Lakenheath and she recently got married to another American also stationed there.  They had a heck of a time trying to just get straight answers from Bury St Edmonds registry office.  Might have been the very same woman you spoke to, because the response she got when she called was awfully similar.  She got sent from pillar to post....very frustrating.  I wonder if there is a slight anti-American sentiment in that area due to all the military there.  It really shouldn't be so hard though!  I hope you got it all worked out in the end.

is it an Anti american thing or just crap council employers ...you know like the rudeness you incurr at the DMV 

We gave notice just after they changed the rules for foreigners, and the registrar really didn't seem to understand the rules. She had to ask us for advice.

She was very nice, but it's possible that the registrars aren't getting proper information from the Home Office. So they don't know how to deal with foreigners, and some of them are responding by taking it out on the foreigners who are getting married, maybe unconsciously hoping that they'll just go away so they don't have to deal with them.