Your marriage cannot go ahead unless the legal formalities have been completed!
For Civil Ceremonies and Religious Ceremonies in non-Church of England/Church in Wales premises, notices of marriage must be given in person to the Superintendent Registrar by you and your partner: no-one else can do so on your behalf. There are also nationally set fees applicable in all circumstances.
The Registrar will need to see:
You might be asked for other documents, but in any case you should be aware that photocopies are unacceptable.
Once the notice of marriage has been given, it will be displayed on the public notice board for 15 days, after which, if all documentation has been received and cleared, an authority for your marriage to proceed will be issued.
It should also be noted that, even if your ceremony is small, you will need to provide at least two other people who are willing to witness the marriage and sign the marriage register.
Where an advance (provisional) booking for a marriage has been made, it is essential that a formal notice is given to the superintendent registrar once you are legally able to do so and within the time arranged with the Superintendent Registrar.
Registration officers have a statutory duty to report any marriage they suspect has been arranged for the sole purpose of evading the statutory immigration controls.
Where a marriage is intended to be solemnised in a foreign country under the local law of that country between two British subjects one or both of whom reside in his or her district a superintendent registrar may accept notice of marriage under special arrangements agreed with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. A foreign country does not include a Commonwealth country or the Irish Republic. The person giving notice must be a British subject who has resided in the superintendent registrar's district for at least seven days immediately before the giving of the notice. The other person must also be a British subject and if residing in England or Wales, should give notice of marriage to his or her superintendent registrar.
The informal certificate of no impediment, Form 268, can be issued after the expiration of 15 clear days from the date of entry of the notice. It should be produced to the British Consul for where the marriage is to take place. He or she will, if no impediment has been shown to exist and when all other formalities are completed, issue his or her certificate of no impediment for production to the foreign marriage authority.
