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Organise a marriage

Marriage and civil partnership ceremonies

Herefordshire is a beautiful county and offers a wide range of venues set within stunning scenery. Weddings and civil ceremonies can take place at any approved premises in Herefordshire or at the Register Office in Hereford. You do not have to live in the county to have a ceremony in Herefordshire.

You can find general information and guidance about having a civil ceremony on the marriages and civil partnerships pages on GOV.UK.

Steps to take when arranging your ceremony

  1. Book your venue - If you are booking the Hereford Register Office this is included in step 2.
  2. Book the registrars to attend your ceremony using our online booking system. We can take bookings for ceremonies up to two years in advance. Please ensure that you have read our terms and conditions as part of your booking.
  3. At the point of booking your ceremony, where applicable, you will need to pay a non-refundable and non-transferable booking fee, which is currently £70.
  4. The fees for booking the registrars vary depending on the day of the week and the venue. For some venues you are required to pay the fee at the time of booking, for the rest you have up until 90 days before the ceremony to pay the remaining balance. For ceremonies at approved premises in Herefordshire there is a fee set by Herefordshire Council for the attendance of the Superintendent Registrar and Registrar.
  5. Give notice - Note, you cannot book your notice until you have decided on your venue.
  6. If your ceremony is taking place at an approved venue, closer to the date of your ceremony we will send you a ceremony plan. This allows you to tell us your plans for the day, such as how many guests are attending and if you wish to include readings and poems.

Giving notice

Before your ceremony, it is a legal requirement that you give notice at your local register office. This is where it is established that you are legally free to marry/enter a civil partnership; and that you have the capacity to consent. This must be completed no longer than 12 months before the date of the ceremony and no later than 29 days before. If you are subject to immigration control, you will need to allow at least 70 days to give notice prior to the ceremony; and you will need to give notice together. You may also need to allow longer if you had a divorce approved abroad.

If you live in Herefordshire, you can book an appointment to give notice.

At the notice appointment, the Superintendent Registrar will ask to see original documents to prove your identity and that you are free to marry in this country, see the full list of documents to bring on GOV.UK. Photocopies will not be accepted. Superintendent Registrars will be able to refuse to issue their authority for a marriage to proceed if they are not satisfied that a person is free to marry in this country.

There is a statutory fee for giving notice, which is currently £42 per person. There are additional fees if you are subject to immigration control or had a previous divorce granted outside the UK.

Witnesses

On the day of the wedding, you will need to bring at least two other people who are prepared to sign to say they have witnessed and understood the ceremony in full. Ideally because of this responsibility, we ask that witnesses are over the age of 18. We do not provide witnesses for you at the ceremony.

Certificates

Marriage and civil partnership certificates are produced after your ceremony and can either be posted to you or collected from the Hereford Register Office. Unless you have been specifically told otherwise, you will need to order your certificates. They are not sent out automatically as they need to be paid for. More information is available on our certificate ordering page. Information about getting your certificate if you are getting married in a church.

Preparing for your Big Day

You will find all you need to know about organising your marriage or civil partnership on our preparing for the Big Day page. This includes: the different types of ceremonies, what you can include in your ceremony, how to pre-order a replacement passport in your new name, and information about getting married abroad.