Marriages & Partnerships

Your booking includes both the venue and the registrar as one package if you want a ceremony at one of our register offices. This also includes outside venues where we hold register office style ceremonies on a regular basis, currently Abbey Manor & Frome Town Hall.

To book your ceremony at an approved venue in Somerset or North Somerset then you’ll first need to reserve the date with the venue then book a registrar with us. We’ll need to know the location and date to make the booking. We have several teams based across the county and won’t be able to allocate the right one if the venue isn’t confirmed.

Once your booking is complete you’ll get a confirmation email with a booking ID and lots more information about next steps.

We’ll call you back as soon as possible to discuss availability, confirm details and run through next steps.

It’s ok to have a a few different dates in mind when you fill in the form.Iin fact it’s a really good idea to have a second choice date with the venue when you’re getting ready to book. Just add notes in the comments box at the end with your alternatives. We can only discuss availability when you’re ready to book. The diary is constantly changing, so we don’t give out general availability in advance in case in case it’s not accurate by the time you get back to us.

We don’t have any booking, reservation or amendment fees and don’t require a deposit. You won’t need your card when we call to arrange your registrar booking. 

You will need to pay for your Classic or Enhanced Ceremony at least 8 weeks before the event. If you are having a Basic Ceremony you may pay on the day by card or cash. We can accept a cheque at least 8 weeks prior to the ceremony. You can also pay when you come into one of our offices to give notice, as you’ll need to pay for that appointment on the day anyway.

You can now pay for ceremonies online by clicking the button below or following the link on the Contact page. You’ll need your booking reference number, the date of your ceremony and the email you used when you booked. If you have any issues you can pay by card by calling 01823 282251.

If you want to pay for additional copies of your certificate in advance you will need to let us know by email. We will add this to your booking fee before you come to pay. If you’ve already paid the main balance then we’ll set up the fee for the certificates.

If you want to order more copies of your certificate after the event, you can find more details in the Certificates section of the More Information page. 

Browse the full list of Somerset & North Somerset approved venues in our Venue Directory. There are over 110 locations, from castles to barns and everything in between. Look at our Somerset Register Office Venues page for affordable options for up to 100 guests.

The Classic ceremony option is available at our Taunton, Yeovil, Weston & Frome locations with larger ceremony rooms and at all our licensed ceremony venues. It’s a full ceremony where you can invite as many friends and family as the venue allows. You can choose music for various parts of the ceremony, optional giving away, a range of our ring vows, plus one reading on top of the basic legal words. We have a great range of locations to suit all sizes and budgets. This format is based on the most commonly requested choices and is slightly cheaper than the Enhanced ceremony. These ceremonies normally take around 20-25 minutes. 

The Enhanced ceremony is similar to the Classic ceremony but offers more opportunity for you to create something unique. You can add your own personal vows instead of our pre-written ring vows, pick up to 3 readings or choose 2 readings and one of our romantic Unity ceremony additions: Sand, Hand Joining, Knot Tying or Memory Box ceremonies. This package reflects requests we often receive for more personalisation or celebrant-style extras. The ceremony lasts around 30 minutes. Read more about the options available on the Ceremony Enhancements page.

Currently it’s not possible to change a marriage to a civil partnership, or a partnership to a marriage, once it has been formalised. The only exception to this is for same sex couples who formed a civil partnership prior to 2019 and the introduction of same sex marriages. A special provision was made for this process but not for other situations. You can find more detail on the More Information page.

When you give notice it will either be for a marriage or a partnership. If you change you mind before the ceremony you will need to give notice again for the new type of union. Do check your confirmation emails and also with the registrar when you give notice to make sure everything is correct.

You can’t hold a religious ceremony at a Register Office, and we only license Approved Premises for non-religious weddings and partnerships. By law, all our ceremonies must contain no religious content, including any readings and music. For Church of England marriages you should make an appointment at the church where you intend to marry. Church of England clergy are authorised registrars and can normally carry out all the necessary legalities. For other faiths and denominations, you should contact the minister to check whether they are authorised to solemnise marriages. You will need to pay for a Registrar to attend your ceremony to carry out the legal paperwork.

A civil marriage or partnership must be held at a licensed venue. It is the venue that is licensed not the person conducting the ceremony, as is the case in some other countries such as the US or Australia. It could be possible to get your family home licensed for weddings. However this is a costly and impractical option, especially if you don’t have room for guests. There is also a requirement that an approved premises should be regularly available to the public for holding ceremonies. This would not normally be the case for most private homes. Somerset has around 120 approved venues to choose from, so there should be something to suit everyone.

The short answer is yes!

Previously, licenses were only granted in England and Wales for specific rooms or permanent structures that must have a roof. Many venues were already licensed to hold ceremonies in outdoor structures such as gazebos, barns or bandstands. These are still really popular choices. The venues also have an indoor licensed room in case the English weather is less than perfect on the day.

During the pandemic new legislation was introduced so that licensed venues could hold ceremonies outside anywhere in their own grounds. This included amendments so that there was no need for a structure. This legislation was made permanent in March 2022, giving couples lots more options about where and how they say their vows. The new rules also mean that ceremonies can take place under temporary structures like marquees or tipis. The ceremonies will still need to be held in an accessible location within the boundaries of the licensed premises. Discuss options with your venue to see what’s possible.

Unfortunately you can’t get married in a field or on a beach unless they are part of an existing licensed venue. You may have seen these happen on TV or social media. These ceremonies take place in other countries that have a different marriage system, non-legal celebrant-led ceremonies, or are sadly just fiction. While we’d love to be able to hold ceremonies on Glastonbury Tor or at the festival, these still aren’t legal options.

Browse our Venue Directory to see what is on offer – you can filter for an Outdoor Ceremonies option.

If you are having a legal ceremony abroad then there is no need to have a legal ceremony here too. If your foreign ceremony is just a blessing then you will need to arrange a legal ceremony here to make it official. Some couples opt to do that before their trip, some wait until after – the choice is yours. We recommend getting the legal bit organised first to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible.

See the “Getting Married Abroad” section on our More Information page for more details of what you need to do, or visit the gov.uk website.

Read our detailed terms & conditions here: Ceremony Terms & Conditions