Getting married in Suffolk

Information about arranging a civil marriage in Suffolk

Where can I get married?

You can marry in a civil ceremony at any Local Authority Ceremony Room, Register Office in England or Wales. Or you can marry at any licensed Approved Premises in England or Wales. An Approved Premise will be a public building such as a hotel or stately home or any other building the local authority feels is an appropriate place in which to be married.

For civil marriages you do not have to marry in the area in which you live.

A complete listing of all Approved Premises in Suffolk

A complete listing of all Suffolk Registration Offices

A complete listing of all Approved venues in England and Wales

It is also possible to marry outside of England and Wales but different rules apply.

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Can I get married outdoors?

No, this is not possible. The law does not allow for a civil marriage to take place in a private house, in open air, a tent or marquee, or in any other movable structure, such as a boat or hot air balloon. Neither can a civil marriage take place in any building which has a past or current connection with any religion.

Recent publicity has highlighted that there will be a more flexible approach to marriage locations and times in the future. This is no longer part of the current government plans and so for the foreseeable future the above restrictions apply.

How soon can I book my wedding date?

Marriages can be booked as far in advance as you wish or at the latest 17 days in advance.

Bookings made are subject to a number of conditions:-

Deposit of £100 payable at the time of booking and totally non-refundable under any circumstances
Bookings must be for a specific ceremony venue and allocated time.
The couple must take responsibility for ensuring that they carry out the legal preliminaries to marriage/civil partnership within the legal timescales
Suffolk County Council cannot guarantee that the venues holding a ceremony licence now will continue to do so indefinitely. Venue Licences are renewable every 3 years and they can also be revoked if the licence holder breaches any of the licence conditions.
Approved venues must be booked directly, we cannot do this on your behalf.
The final fee for the ceremony will be the fee prevailing at the time and cannot always be guaranteed in advance. Fees have been set up to 31 March 2014 (see below)

To avoid disappointment we would encourage couples wishing to book registrars to make contact with us as soon as they can. Bookings will be taken on a strictly first come first served basis either by telephone or personal visit to the office.

How do I make the arrangements?

First decide on a venue and a date. It is always a good idea to have an alternative in case your first choice is already booked. Contact the Suffolk Registration Office where you wish to be married or the Office that is responsible for the Approved Venue you have selected. They will take provisional details from you and ask you to arrange for the legal preliminaries to be prepared.

Important: Bookings are all treated as provisional until you have arranged the legal preliminaries.

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What are the legal preliminaries?

The legal preliminaries are called the Notice of Marriage. This is a legal document which has to be prepared by a Registrar. It is valid for one year.

Both the bride and groom need to attend in person to prepare a Notice of Marriage. The cost of each notice is £33.50 per person. If you live in Suffolk you can attend any of our offices but please be aware that an appointment system is in operation. Each Notice takes about 30 minutes to prepare. If you do not speak or understand English well you will need to take an interpreter with you.
To be legally eligible to marry and prepare a Notice of Marriage you must:-

Be aged 18 or over or have written consent from your parents or guardians if you are aged 16 or 17;
You must have been a resident in the district for a qualifying period of 8 full consecutive days. This period must immediately precede the day your Notice of marriage is prepared;
You must be lawfully free to marry -in other words not married to anyone else!;
One of you must have been born female, the other born male (or completed a legal gender reassignment) and you must not be closely related to each other.

Documents required for Notice of Marriage

When you contact your local Suffolk Registration Office you will be advised what documents you will need to bring. These may include some or all of the following depending on your circumstances:

change of name deed (registered with the Royal Court of Justice);
death certificate of former spouse;
decree absolute;
full birth certificate;
passport;
proof of residence

Please note that all documents must be current (this is an important consideration if you have recently moved house). Photocopies of any document are not acceptable.

How much will the ceremony cost?

Ceremony	Cost
Local Authority ceremony rooms:- to 31 March 2012 (Available Monday - Friday and Saturday morning) Bury St Edmunds - The Abbeygate Suite Ipswich - The Neptune Suite Stowmarket - The John Milton Room Deben - The Sandlings Waveney - The Eastern Suite Sudbury - The Charterhouse Room	£140

Local Authority ceremony rooms (as above) 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013	£165
Local Authority ceremony rooms (as above) 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014	£175
Local Authority small ceremony rooms:- (Available Monday - Thursday) Bury St Edmunds - The Magna Carta Room Stowmarket - The Gipping Room Deben - The Deben Room Waveney - The Waveney Sudbury - The Charterhouse Room	£40
A £50 non-refundable deposit is required to secure a time slot for our ceremony rooms. Any changes to a ceremony booking will incur a £30 administration charge.

Approved venue ceremony (Monday to Saturday) to 31 March 2012	£350
Approved venue ceremony (Sunday & applicable bank holidays) to 31 March 2012	£450
Approved venue ceremony (Monday to Saturday) 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013	£375
Approved venue ceremony (Sunday & applicable bank holidays) 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013	£475
Approved venue ceremony (Monday to Saturday) 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014	£390
Approved venue ceremony (Sunday & applicable bank holidays) 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014	£495
A £100 non-refundable deposit is required to secure a time slot for Approved Venue bookings. Any changes to a ceremony booking will incur a £30 administration charge.

Registrars' Attendance at a Non- Conformist Church	£80
Ceremony at The Suffolk Register Office, Ipswich (small room)	£40
Each Copy of the marriage certificate (if purchased on the day)	£3.50
Certificates purchased after the ceremony	£7.00/£9.00
Notice of Marriage fee per person	£33.50

Can I get married on a Bank Holiday?

We are able to offer ceremonies at Approved Venues on the following bank holidays

Good Friday
Easter Monday
Early May Bank Holiday Monday
Late May Bank Holiday Monday (Whitsun)
Late August Bank Holiday Monday
Additional Christmas Bank Holidays (not December 25th, 26th or January 1st)

Is there any way of getting married immediately?

There are some circumstances where it may be possible to reduce the standard waiting period of 17 days.

These are usually exceptional and could include situations such as:

The serious illness of either the Bride or Groom from which they are not expected to recover.
The posting to a war zone of either the Bride or Groom as part of their duties of being a serving member of the armed forces.

If you think that your circumstances could warrant a waiver of the standard waiting period please contact your local registration office without delay or email registrars@suffolk.gov.uk

In some cases an additional and non-refundable fee may be payable.

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Who do we need to tell that we have got married?

A list of organisations you may need to tell about your marriage .

After we have married, do I have to use my new husband's surname?

Although this still tends to be traditional, it is certainly not compulsory. In this country both men and women are entitled to choose whether or not they want to take their spouse's surname, keep their own name or double-barrel them both.

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I don't live in England and Wales - can I marry here?

Possibly, but in order to be eligible you will need to complete a residency period of at least 8 full days (you may need to provide proof of this - such as a hotel invoice). After this qualifying period you will need to give a 'Notice of Marriage' at one of our Registration Offices. Please see the section above entitled 'What are the Legal Preliminaries?'.

If you do not hold an EEA Passport you may be subject to additional requirements - Marriage Information for Non- EEA Nationals.

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Did you know that a naming ceremony could immediately follow your marriage ceremony?

There is an alternative to marriage! A commitment ceremony - a ceremonial alternative for those not willing or unable to be married.

If you need more information about getting married contact your local Suffolk Registration Office or email: registrars@suffolk.gov.uk .

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