WeddingGuideUK.com - Licensed Venue Ceremonies

Licensed Venue Ceremonies

Introduction
Since the change in the law in April 1995, it is possible to have a civil wedding ceremony in buildings other than a Register Office and there are currently around 4000 licensed venues in England and Wales including castles, hotels, stately homes, football stadiums and even zoos.

Statistics show that out of the 175,000 weddings taking place in the UK in the year 2000 there are over 90,000 civil weddings, with about 50,000 at approved premises.

Although register offices are no longer the cold, official places that they once were, the wedding ceremony is short and any personalisation of the service can be quite limited. An approved premises venue, on the other hand, allows you the choice of venue that is as grand and proud or as small and intimate as you want your wedding to be, with a personalised service that can include your own vows or commitment added to the statutory declaratory and contracting words. As time is less restricted you can include more of your favourite music, love poems and readings to make your wedding truly unique.

So, if you like the idea of a traditional white wedding, but without any religious associations then a venue wedding is the ideal choice. Also, if you have been divorced it is still often very difficult to find a religious minister who will agree to perform the ceremony and therefore a licensed venue can provide a wonderful alternative.

Legal Requirements
Licenses for premises are not granted to private building or residences because free public access must always be guaranteed. Parks, sports fields or other open spaces are inadmissible, as is any room that contains a licensed bar. You cannot marry on anything mobile so forget a ship or aircraft unless it is permanently fixed or moored, like the Golden Hinde on the Thames. The service itself is not allowed to include any religious symbolism including candles, hymns or religious readings and the building must not have any religious connections, either past or present.

The legal requirements for getting married at a Licensed Venue are the same as those for getting married by civil ceremony at a register office, but the attendance of a Registrar also needs to be arranged. To arrange a wedding at an approved premises, you must first get in touch with the venue to make a provisional booking. You should then contact the register office in the district where the premises is located to ensure that the Registration Officer can attend your wedding. If you want a humanist ceremony you should also make a provisional booking with a celebrant. Once these have been agreed you can then confirm your booking at the venue.

Notice of your marriage is given at the register office in the district(s) where you live, not where the venue is situated. Once you have been issued with your Marriage Authority this should be forwarded to the Superintendent Registrar in the registration district covering your venue for their records.

You should give notice of your marriage in the registration district(s) where you live and not in the district where the approved premises is situated (unless you live in that area). Once you have been issued with your Marriage Authority, you must forward it to the Superintendent Registrar in the district where you are getting married for their records. Notice can be given up to twelve months before your wedding date and the earlier you plan the more chance you have of getting your chosen date and venue. In addition to the standard fees for a civil wedding there is a further fee payable to the Registrar for getting married at approved premises.

Licensed venues have a greater flexibility than register offices regarding the times that ceremonies can be held. The available times are between 8am and 6pm on any day but this will be down to the individual venue.

For more information, see the article on Licensed Venues.

Preparing for a Wedding at a Licensed Venue
There are many advantages to holding a wedding and reception at a licensed venue. The rooms allocated for your ceremony are often larger and grander than a register office so you may not be as restricted in the number of guests you can invite. Also many venues have the facilities to hold your reception as well as your ceremony, which allows the day to flow more easily, but also eliminates any fears of losing any guests between the ceremony and the meal! Many venues have a honeymoon suite and overnight accommodation for your guests so you can easily make your day last an entire weekend by sharing a wedding breakfast with your guests the next day.

Before you view a premises take time to think about what you want and make a list of questions to ask and take a notebook with you when visiting venues for jotting down any relevant points, for example:

Do you both like the venue?
Can you afford it?
Is it formal/informal enough for you?
Can it accommodate all the guests you would like to invite to the ceremony?
Does it offer reception facilities and menus that you like?
Can you just have the ceremony there?
Can you just have the ceremony followed by a celebratory drink and then leave?
Can you have a blessing following your ceremony?
Is there a music system you can use or space for live music to be played?
Are the staff open to your ideas?
Will children be welcome and well catered for?
Is there a crèche?
Is the building accessible for all of your guests?
How far will guests have to travel?
Is there a good range of overnight accommodation available locally?
Are there restrictions on the time the event must finish?
Can you have music and dancing?
Can you decorate the venue as you wish?
Are there facilities for recorded or live music?
Will you have to pay extra for tables, chairs etc.?
Will the venue allow lighted candles? (many won't as they can be seen to have religious connotations).
Ask where photographs can be taken, indoors and outside?
Can you take your own drink? If so, how much is corkage? And how much are the drinks provided at the venue?
Can you use external caterers?
Check policy regarding holding bedrooms for guests.
Does the package include, changing room, toastmaster, cake stand, flowers, cake knife?
What happens between the meal and evening entertainment, do they supply another room while furniture is being moved etc?
What time does the bar close? Can a special license be granted?
What is the availability of taxis and alternative hotels for guests?
Do they provide they round or square tables?
Do they allow more than one wedding per day? This is important as you may find that there up to three or four weddings taking place on the same day.
H easy will it be for your guests to find and then park?

What do I wear?
What you wear at your licensed venue wedding is clearly a personal decision but with the variety of places to hold your wedding there are endless possibilities for creating a theme for your wedding, you just need some imagination and a sense of fun. Why not have a medieval theme in a dramatic castle setting, with you as King Arthur and Lady Guinevere and your guests as your lords and ladies? For something simpler you could have a colour theme, from your outfits to the serviettes and have your wedding room decorated to match. If getting married at your favourite football team's stadium is your idea of the perfect day, then you could go the whole hog and wear the team's strip, or at the very least incorporate their colours. A wonderful alternative is to have your ceremony in a beautiful theatre - simply pick a play and the stage is all yours to dress up in whatever your imagination can think of.

Continue to a typical ceremony at a licensed venue
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