Celebrate in Shropshire Shropshire 2018 | Page 11

Booking your venue We will accept provisional bookings up to 2 years in advance of the intended ceremony. A non refundable booking fee is required to reserve a date for a ceremony more than 12 months and up to 2 years in the future. This fee is completely separate from any other fee which may be required by the Registration Service. If you are booking a ceremony within 12 months of the date, a non refundable deposit will be required at the time of booking, this fee is deductable from the ceremony fee which the Registration Service will charge. Civil Marriages in Shropshire In Shropshire, we have a wealth of beautiful venues in which to hold a civil marriage or civil partnership, or indeed any other of our ceremonies, such as a naming or a renewal of vows. We have everything from castles and stately homes, to council buildings and registrars offices, to hotels large and small, country pubs and everything in between. We are confident that there will be a venue suitable for all tastes and all budgets. All couples having ceremonies at an Approved Venue are encouraged to personalise their ceremonies by including readings and music. A selection of readings and poems are included in this brochure to help you with your choices. An inclusion in a ceremony cannot be religious and inclusions are at the discretion of the Superintendent Registrar who is responsible for ensuring that you have a valid marriage or civil partnership. Our full terms and conditions of booking are available on our website www.shropshire.gov.uk We always remember that every ceremony will be a unique event. You’ve probably already made plans and have many ideas on how your ceremony will be part of the best day of your life. We will look after every detail of your ceremony making sure that it becomes a memorable family occasion. Don’t panic! Religious venues The law is different if you want to hold your civil partnership or marriage in a religious building. It is not possible for a civil partnership or a marriage of a same sex couple to take place in a church of the Church of England. Civil partnerships and marriages can take place in churches but these have to be registered or licensed for this purpose. Therefore it should be understood that for a civil partnership or a marriage of a same sex couple to take place in a church of any religious denomination, that church must have opted in to this provision. When arranging for a marriage or civil partnership in any religious building please speak to the local registration service first. There are a number of legal requirements which have to be satisfied in order for a marriage to take place. In all churches of any faith other than Church of England your legal preliminaries will need to be done with the registration service and the legislation will require that a number of provisions have to be met before the legal preliminaries can be done. For marriages in the Church of England, some vicars will ask that couples give their notices to a registrar instead of the Banns being read. In 2015 changes in the law require those people who are subject to immigration control wanting to marry in the Church of England to give their notices to the Registration Service and the provision for banns removed. We know how excited and nervous you can be on your special day. Do not worry, we will look after you, and tell you what you need to do and say as the ceremony goes along. There is nothing for you to remember to do on your own. You will never be asked to repeat large numbers of words; we will break down the sections into small bite size pieces and help you all the way through. 10