• Church Weddings
• Civil Wedding Ceremony
• Getting Married Abroad
• Wedding Ceremony Music
• Church Wedding Venue Decorations
• Wedding Vows
• Multi-cultural Weddings
• Wedding Readings
• Pre-marriage Courses
• Renewing your wedding vows
• Wedding Cars & Carriages

 

MARRIAGE BY CIVIL CEREMONY

Marriages by civil ceremony may take place at the Office of a Registrar of Civil Marriages or at a venue which has been agreed between the couple and the Registrar and approved in advance by the Registrar. 

If you wish to have a civil ceremony at a venue other than a Registry Office, you must contact the Registration Office in the area where the venue is located and apply to have the venue approved for the solemnisation of your civil marriage. 

This may involve the Registrar making an inspection of the venue. In order that the venue can be inspected in good time for your intended marriage, it is recommended that you make these arrangements well in advance of your notification appointment with the Registrar. 

Please note there will be additional fees for civil marriages at venues other than registry offices. The Registrar will advise you of what fees are due when you are giving your notification.

Couples undergoing a civil ceremony must have been issued with a MRF (Marriage Registration Form) by a registrar, not necessarily the same registrar who is performing the ceremony. 

As of 5th November 2007, there are no longer any residency requirements for civil marriages. The ceremony must be performed in the presence of two witnesses who should be both over 18 years of age.

At the end of the ceremony, the Registrar, the couple and the witnesses must all sign the MRF (Marriage Registration Form). 

The marriage will then be civilly registered by the Registrar on the basis of the information contained in the MRF (Marriage Registration Form) as soon as possible after the ceremony.

 

Guidelines For Marriage Venues under the Civil Registration Act 2004.

1. Having regard to their primary use, situation, construction and state of repair, the ceremony room and the venue in which it is situated must, in the opinion of the Registrar, be a seemly and dignified venue for the solemnization of marriages. 
2. The primary use of a venue would render it unsuitable if that use could demean proceedings or bring them into disrepute.
3. The ceremony room must have adequate capacity to accommodate, comfortably seated, the numbers attending the ceremony.
4. Section 51(2) (c) of the Civil Registration Act, 2004 provides that a registered solemniser shall not solemnise a marriage unless the venue where the solemnisation occurs is open to the public. 
5. Only venues that allow unrestricted public access without charge will be considered for approval, subject to normal security and health and safety considerations.
6. The venue in which the ceremony room is situated must conform to all the requirements of any venue open to the public in respect of planning permission, certificate of fire safety, and must meet all relevant health and safety requirements.
7. The ceremony room, and the venue in which it is situated must have adequate public liability insurance cover.
8. The ceremony room must be accessible to all, in particular to persons with disabilities.
9. The venue must have no recent or continuing connection with any religion, religious practice or religious persuasion which would be incompatible with the use of the venue for the solemnization of civil marriages.
10. The place in which marriage may be solemnized must be a fixed structure that is clearly identifiable by description and location as a distinct part of a venue.
11. The requirement that the marriage be solemnized in a fixed structure that is open to the public precludes marriages being solemnized in the open air, a tent, marquee or other temporary structure, or a private dwelling.