Marriages & Partnerships

We need your planning form around 4 weeks before the big day so we can start personalising your ceremony and check we have all the info we need. We often refer to these forms as “pre ceremony check forms” or “PCCs” for short. Previously this form was a downloadable word document but is now a digital form. It should be compatible with most devices. If you experience difficulties filling it in please email the team to request it in a different format.

You will not receive a confirmation email after submission – we will contact you if there are any problems or we need extra information.

Payment

Fees for full ceremonies are due 8 weeks before the big day. You can pay online by clicking the Ceremony Payment button on the Contact page. Alternatively, you pay over the phone by calling 01823 282251 during normal office hours. The fee includes a presentation certificate that you and possibly other friends and family will sign on the day.

Go to the Costs page for up to date information on ceremony costs.

On The Day

Before the ceremony begins, you will have a brief meeting with the registrar to check details. We ask that you arrive around 15 minutes before your ceremony start time.

Our ceremony schedule is very busy so we do urge you to be on time for your ceremony. If there is a delay, please let us know as soon as possible. We will always do our best to accommodate you but may have to postpone your ceremony until later in the day, or even to another date if absolutely necessary.

The Ceremony

The naming and welcome ceremonies are very flexible and have lots of options for you to make them really personal. They lasts up to 30 minutes. This is our suggested order of service, but all of the elements are totally optional. Let us know if you would like to include anything different.

• Introduction and Welcome
• Naming
• First Reading
• Parents’ Promises
• Second Reading
• Guide Parent Promises
• Grandparent Promises
• Sibling Promises
• Third Reading or Unity Ceremony
• Signing of the certificate
• Photography

Completing the Pre-Ceremony Check Form

We need your choices around 4 weeks in advance to prepare your ceremony.

Booking ID

Enter the 8-digit number that will be on your confirmation email.

Ceremony Date

Enter the date your ceremony will take place

Ceremony Time

This is the time that your ceremony is booked to start. You will need to arrive around 15 minutes earlier to arrange payment and have your pre ceremony interview.

Ceremony Venue

Please enter just the name, not the address of your venue, e.g. The Old Town Hall or Abbey Manor. The venue name is automatically used as part of the form’s file name, so entering a full address will cause the form to fail.

Names

We need the name of the parent/parents booking the ceremony. First names, surnames, and pronouns so we know how to address you and refer to you in the ceremony. We don’t need to use your full legal name, so you are welcome to use whatever version of your name you are comfortable with.

Alternative Names

If you have given your full name above to use for correspondence, but would prefer us to use a different name during the ceremony the please give us details here. For example, if your name is Michael and you would like us to use that for the more formal elements or correspondence but would like us to call you Mick during the rest of the ceremony.

Child’s Name & Preferred Name

Let us know your child’s full name, and also a preferred name that you intend to use more regularly (e.g. Katherine Lily – preferred name Kitty)

Child’s Birth Date & Age

Tell us your child’s birth date, and also the age that they will be at the ceremony.

Child’s Name Reason

Tell us a little about why you chose your child’s name and what it means to you so we can work that into our script.

Guests

Let us know how many guests you are planning to have at the event – we need to make sure there will be space at the venue.

Seating Arrangements

You will need to nominate someone who will be in the ceremony room to arrange seating. This could be a friend or family member, or there may be an event co-ordinator to help you if you are at an approved venue rather than a register office. It’s up to you how your guests are seated. However, you do need to ensure that there are enough seats reserved for key family and friends, or members of the entrance party who will enter after everyone else is seated.

Photographs and Videos

You may wish to organise a professional photographer and/or videographer for your ceremony.  Alternatively, you may nominate a guest to do this.  Your photographer and videographer should liaise with the registrar on the day who will advise on timings and positioning for photographs. We ask that the use of flash is kept to a minimum and that the photography doesn’t detract from your ceremony. We’ll make sure your photographer has the chance to take pictures of you sat at the signing table with your certificate.

Ceremony Type

There are various reasons for holding a ceremony and we will tailor our script to fit. Let us know whether it’s a naming ceremony for an infant, a naming ceremony for an older child, a welcome ceremony for an adopted child, or something else, e.g. the blending of two families.

Starting The Ceremony

You will need to think about how you will enter the ceremony room. Would you like to enter as a family after everyone is seated or would you prefer to enter with your guests and keep things completely casual? Give us details on the form.

Personal Parental Vows

We have some simple pledges for you to make to your child. However, you can also opt to read your own personal vows as well. Tell us here if that’s something you’d like to include. We suggest no more than a minute or two in length. If you’d like to do something longer then please include that in place of one of the readings.

Acknowledgement of Children

If you have children, whether they’re at the ceremony or can’t be with you, we can acknowledge their part in your story. Tell us their names and any essential details, and then a few sentences about the role they have played or why you would like to thank them. We will work this into our script, but if you would prefer to read a short speech yourself then let us know.

Guide Parents

We have opted to use the term Guide Parents rather than Godparents as this is a non-religious ceremony. There is no restriction on using any particular term and we’re happy to be flexible to suit your choices. Let us know if you plan to include this role in your ceremony, what their names are and if you have a different preferred term. We will include some short pledges of love and support for them to make to your child.

Grandparents

Let us know if you would like to include any grandparents in the ceremony, and we will include some short pledges of love and support for them to make to both you and your child.

Siblings

Let us know if you have older siblings that you would like to include in the ceremony. We can add some short age-appropriate pledges of friendship for them to make to their younger sibling. Please tell us their names and ages.

The Pledges

We have pledges included in our ceremony for parents, guide parents, grandparents and siblings. There are 3 included for each category and you will simple be asked to respond “yes” to each question.

Parents

• Will you provide a home of love, security and joy for …………….?
• Will you teach them love, honesty and compassion to the best of your abilities?
• Will you give them support and freedom to grow even beyond your own expectations?

Guide Parents

• Do you promise to watch over …………… with care and affection?
• Will you offer guidance and insight, friendship and inspiration?
• Will you encourage their ambitions and support their dreams?

Grandparents

• Will you share your wisdom and also your compassion with these young parents to support them in their task?
• Will you offer your love and friendship to ……………… as they grow?
• Will you be a source of comfort and shelter, guidance and inspiration?

Siblings

• Will you always be a friend to ……………………..?
• Will you share the things you already know and the things you learn with them?
• Will you try and be the best brother/sister you can be?

Readings & Unity Ceremonies

You can to add up to three readings to personalise your ceremony, or up to two readings and a unity ceremony element. Readings provide a lovely opportunity to include additional family members and friends in your special day. There is a fantastic selection to be found online. We will need to see them first to make sure they are appropriate and not too long. Add copies of your readings and the names of the readers to your form. If you are choosing an extract, please supply the full title of the piece.

We offer specially adapted versions of our Sand, Memory Box or Hand Joining ceremonies for our Naming and Welcome ceremonies (we don’t offer the knot tying option for these ceremonies). You can find details of the Unity options on the Ceremony Enhancements page, including what you will need to provide or prepare. This is another great way to personalise your ceremony, make it even more meaningful or even create a lasting memento of the day.  The Unity Ceremony is an option for the third reading slot, but you can still opt to have no readings in the first two slots if you prefer not to. We’ll adjust the ceremony order to make sure things flow well. You’ll need to bring your own props and supplies for these ceremonies as they’re all very personal choices.

Let us know if you’d like to include grandparents, guide parents or siblings in the unity ceremony option.

Music

Music is normally included in 3 or 4 places through the ceremony. You will need to provide your own copies of the music to be played.

• Background music as your guests arrive
• Your entrance, if you are walking in after your guests are seated. (This doesn’t need to be especially long and should be faded out or stopped when you reach the front of the aisle.)
• Signing the certificate
• Exit music

Add the title and artist/composer for each piece on your form so we can check it’s suitable. The music can be recordings or played by live musicians. Ask your venue what format they would prefer the music to be (CD, USB, Bluetooth via phone etc) and whether they will have someone to operate the music for you or if you need to nominate someone in your party.

At our register office venues (including Frome Town Hall and Abbey Manor), we normally provide Bluetooth speakers so please bring your music choices downloaded on to a device that will connect with them. Ask a member of your party to operate the device, and the registrars will advise them when to start and stop the music. We don’t advise streaming (particularly from free apps that may have adverts), as we can’t provide guest wifi and the 4G signal may be unreliable.

OUTSIDE CEREMONIES

Let us know if you’re planning an outdoor ceremony – this is normally available at any venue with outside space, depending on the weather. If it’s wet, windy, too cold or too hot then you’ll need to move everyone inside. Make sure you know in advance whether there’s enough in the indoor ceremony rooms for all your guests. If not, you may need to decide who can fit in the room for the ceremony.

Animals

If you’re having a ceremony at one of our approved premises then you may have the option of having pets or other animals at your ceremony. Check with your venue as to what they will allow and let us know your plans – essential in case of allergies, amongst other things!

If you’re having a ceremony at Taunton or Weston register offices, Abbey Manor or Frome Town Hall then the only animals allowed are registered service animals.

Additional Information

You can use the final comments box on the form to give us any other information that might be useful – special needs, unusual requests, or anything not covered by the rest of the form.

POST CODE

If you still live separately then just use the postcode for Partner 1.

Certificate

You will receive a presentation certificate, included in the ceremony price, that will be signed by the registrar conducting your ceremony, yourselves and whoever else has taken part in the ceremony, if you wish