Ceremonies To Resume With Limit of 15
Following the announcement by the Prime Minister that lockdown will lift on December 2nd, we look forward to once again providing ceremonies at our offices and approved venues across Somerset. Ceremonies can continue in all 3 tiers with a limit of 15 people. This includes the couple and their guests, but not the 2 registrars, photographers or other staff. The maximum number will still be limited by the size of the ceremony room, so may possibly be lower – please check with your venue. We have more detailed guidance on how social distancing restrictions will affect your ceremony in our More Information section, including downloadable forms to get back to us with your ceremony choices before your big day.
We are now asking all customers attending all registration offices to wear a face covering. This includes wedding parties.
Tier 3 Ceremonies
Tier 3 ceremonies can still go ahead with a limit of 15 people, including the couple. However, receptions will not be allowed. Hospitality venues that would need to close to the public due to Tier 3 restrictions would still be allowed to host civil ceremonies, if they are willing, so please keep in touch with your venue to check arrangements.
Tier 2 Ceremonies
Tier 2 ceremonies can go ahead with a limit of 15 people, but can also have a reception afterwards for the same number in a covid secure venue as a sit down meal. Please keep in touch with your venue to check arrangements.
Notice of Marriage / Civil Partnership Appointments
We are currently only offering Notice of Marriage/CP appointments for ceremonies to be held in the next 3 months, due to limited availability. In order to book an appointment, please email us with a telephone number and convenient time for us to call you back. Please be aware that we are not able to offer an appointment if you do not have a ceremony already booked. You need to give notice in the district where you live, so Somerset & North Somerset residents should email us at somersetregistrations@somerset.gov.uk, while couples who live elsewhere should get in touch with their local register office to book an appointment.
New Ceremony Bookings
If you would like to register your interest with us for a brand new ceremony in 2021 or 2022 please complete this formand we will call you back as soon as possible. We are not taking bookings via email or phone at this time, purely via the form requests. Please note that you will not receive a confirmation email after submitting a form. We respectfully ask that you don’t message to check if your form has been received, or to see how long it will be before we can call as this is impacting on the already very high staff workload. There’s also no need to submit extra forms if you have different dates or venues in mind. If you see the screen at the end of the form process thanking you for your submission, then it has been successful. We’ll be in touch as soon as we can, but may be a couple of weeks, especially if it is a 2022 request. We do still have plenty of space in our diaries, but have a huge volume of requests and new postponements to process, so thanks in advance for your patience.
Ceremony Postponements and Cancellations
While ceremonies are due to continue regardless of the tier, we do appreciate that receptions will not be permitted in Tier 3 areas, and ceremony numbers are being kept to 15. We will continue to reschedule existing bookings that are impacted by the ongoing social distancing restrictions on request. Please use the booking form via the link above and tick the postponement option.
If you wish to completely cancel your booking (rather than just postpone it), please put this in writing to somersetregistrations@somerset.gov.uk or via our contact form. The email must come from either the bride or groom and not a third party.
Ceremony Payments
Ceremony payments can be made by calling 01823 282251. Please be aware that this line is extremely busy, please be patient and be assured that your booking is safe.
We really do appreciate your patience and understanding at this difficult time.
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For general advice regarding coronavirus, visit the NHS website.