Register Office Weddings

We had a registry wedding, though in a hotel not the registry office, and it was personal and moving and everything I could have hoped for as a ceremony. Your registry wedding can be whatever you want it to be - a deeply moving occasion, or just another hoop to jump through to be together; a date you celebrate for the rest of your life, or something you mostly pretend didn't happen.  Do what feels best for the two of you, and tell anyone who disagrees that you're sorry they can't be happy for you.

Your registry wedding can be whatever you want it to be - a deeply moving occasion, or just another hoop to jump through to be together; a date you celebrate for the rest of your life, or something you mostly pretend didn't happen.  Do what feels best for the two of you, and tell anyone who disagrees that you're sorry they can't be happy for you.

Thanks, noirem!  I agree that Registry weddings are no different from any other wedding, and didn't mean to imply otherwise at all, if that's what you guys were thinking...

For us, it's just a hoop to jump through right now.  We may or may not go through with it, as I'm still coming to terms with the idea/weighing the options. --Mostly I don't want to have to miss Christmas for the second year in a row because UKBA has my passport... Apart from an appointment at a PEO (after 9 July), is there any other way to expedite an application from within the UK so it doesn't take 6 months?!?

For those of you who had a small Registrar Office wedding (bride, groom and two witnesses), did they charge you for use of one of the halls (a few hundred pounds per hour) or just take you into a small office/room and have the ceremony there? 

On the Lambeth Town Hall website (where we'll be getting married), they just list the reception rooms but the smallest is for 12 people and costs £282 an hour on weekends.  Since this is just a hoop to jump through, we don't want it to be a big thing (or feel like the room is empty with just the four of us) or spend more than we have to.

It'd be perfect if we could just be taken to a room, say we love each other and sign a sheet of paper.    10 minutes tops.  In and out. 

We had a small ceremony (4 witnesses) and paid 49 pounds for the room. If you wanted a more enhanced ceremony it was 155 pounds for the same room. So, perhaps the cost just depends on what Register Office you marry in?

It's probably best to call the town hall in which you are going to marry and ask them or look around for a different place that will cost less money.

Thanks!

We called the Town Hall and Registrar Office yesterday (apparently there's a huge difference between them and they don't know info about the other.... at least in Lambeth) and they seemed quite confused (both the Town Hall people and the Registrar Office staff)....

One person even told us after we gave notice and got the certificate 15-21 days later, we were officially married!!!!  They said we didn't need to have a ceremony- that was mainly symbolic.   

Well, after asking 'are you sure?' far too many times, they realised that wasn't right and we did, indeed, need a ceremony.   

It's £90 for the room on the weekend and we can have it with just the two of us and two witnesses.    Now we just have to schedule the darn thing. 

But some people there said we had to wait until our appointment to give notice to schedule the ceremony and some said we can book it now...... if someone sends us availability (they said they could), hopefully we can book it sooner rather than later (the nearest appointment to give notice was 5 weeks from now!)...... then I can book the appointment for FLR(M) priority appointment!    A whole new set of hoops to jump through.    Yippee!

I'm sooooo glad neither of us want a big wedding.    That would be crazy to plan.  I'm not sure how couples do it if they're both working.  I guess that's what wedding planners and mothers are for. 

Sorry they're not being clear! Again, I have no idea how it works at the Lambeth Register Office, but we could provisionally book the room prior to giving notice. Anyway, I hope things go smoothly for you guys. It will be an amazing day regardless of size.

I think it works like that (the way you were able to do it) everywhere.  Even reading the Lambeth Register Office website, it said to make a provisional booking for the day you want to be married, then make an appointment to give notice... the people who we talked to were just confused.    We got it sorted out in the end.... hopefully they will send us their availability and we can make the booking soon. 

Hm, So I guess I never updated this post-ceremony.  Like I said, we went up to Nottingham for it, because a) it was available, and b) was a place that had meaning for us.  We both went to Uni there, and started living together there after I arrived on my T4 visa.

Apart from some hassle at our hotel, the pouring down rain, and the registrar in training  making it awkward to fill in our paperwork (She couldn't comprehend that J has no father. Sure, he was conceived somehow, but if he's never met his dad, then why should that man's name be on OUR piece of paper), and the 80 year old man who interrupted mid-ceremony (just after the "speak now/forever hold your peace" bit, lol!), we had a fantastic day!

The whole thing was a lot more meaningful than I thought it would be.  We didn't choose what to do about our vows until halfway through the train ride up, but apparently J had already jotted some notes down the week before.  He nailed it.  I on the other hand, panicked and fumbled my way through it, promising him kitkat chunky peanutbutters for life.  The lady performing the ceremony actually teared up a bit too-- So I suppose our love for one another is quite touching?

But yeah, we got to catch up with friends, say our vows, hit the post office to send everything off, celebrated with some bubbly drinks at our favorite pub around the corner from where we lived, and went out to dinner.  We woke up the next morning (my birthday!), went down to Leicester to celebrate his Mum's bday which was the day before (but we were a bit busy!), and acted like nothing happened.

I still refer to him as my Boyfriend/Other Half/Better Half/The J-Dog/etc, but somehow feel more secure in our relationship, if that makes sense.  Nothing's changed with how we interact, but, hm, I guess it's hard to explain.   I guess I know that I get to keep him. Forever. And that's satisfying.

That sounds like a great day, PickledSakura! 

I'm glad everything worked out- the rain could have been a disaster, but hopefully it made it more memorable. 

Congratulations 

Congrats!  It sounds like it was absolutely lovely...rain, pensioner interruptus, and all.