This section includes information on how you can personalise your civil marriage or civil partnership ceremony. It is important that your big day is one you will remember and treasure. Which is why we invite you to include your additions.
We are flexible when it comes to personal additions, however, there are some legal restrictions you need to be aware of. Civil ceremonies are non-religious ceremonies which include both marriages and civil partnerships. The law does not allow religious content to be included in a civil ceremony.
Your ceremony will follow a simple structure, but we are happy to change this if you would rather have something more bespoke.
- entrances
- welcome and introduction - the registrar will speak about the ceremony and the significance of your union. You can also include other personalisation here (optional)
- first reading (optional)
- for marriages: declaratory and contracting words (the legal bit) and vows
- for civil partnerships: the declaration (the legal bit) and vows
- exchange of ring (optional)
- second reading (optional)
- closing the ceremony - the registrar will announce that you are lawfully joined, and you can choose if you want to be invited to share a kiss (optional)
- signing the schedule
- congratulations and exit of couple
You can let us know when you complete your ceremony plan if you would like to make any changes.
Simplifying the ceremony
You may wish to make the ceremony simpler for several reasons. For example, you may be nervous and uncomfortable speaking in front of many guests. We are happy to accommodate your wishes for a simplified ceremony and can reduce the content should you wish.
Personalising your ceremony
Your entrances
Entering the ceremony room is up to you. There are options to enter together or have a more traditional entrance with one of you waiting for the other.
Would you like anyone to accompany you, for example:
- parent or parents
- sibling or siblings
- bridesmaids
- groomsmen
You can tailor your ceremony to include a particular piece of music as you enter. Alternatively, you could enter to a round of applause.
The modern tradition of being 'given away' or 'escorted down the aisle' is a gesture of love and respect. Giving away is the moment during the wedding ceremony where one or both parties are presented to be married. This happens following the ceremony procession. This can be done with:
- one or both parents
- by a child
- by a sibling
- a close friend
- other family member
We are happy to start proceedings as formally or informally as you wish.
Music choices
You are free to include non-religious music whilst your guests wait for proceedings to begin, when you sign the marriage schedule and at the start and close of your ceremony. Depending on the venue of your ceremony you may also wish to include live music.
If your ceremony is taking place at a licenced venue, you will need to contact them directly to find out how you will need to supply your music for your ceremony.
If your ceremony is taking place at one of our Registration Office ceremony rooms, music must be supplied by you. All our offices have Bluetooth which is the preferred method and can be connected to a compatible phone or tablet. This will need to be operated by a nominated guest who will need to have access to your playlist. Please make sure they are comfortable to play your music.
- Before the ceremony there is the option to play music as your guests wait. Music can be live or recorded. Including current love songs, traditional wedding music or the scores of your favourite films. We recommend 30 to 15 minutes of entrance music for approved venues, and up to 15 minutes for registration offices.
- During the ceremony you can choose to include music instead of readings. You may wish for a live performance of music from a family member. This should be no more than three minutes.
- During the signing of the paperwork we recommend you choose around five minutes of music to play.This is a good opportunity for guests to take photos should you wish.
- At the End of the ceremony we recommend that you choose around five minutes of music which can be played as you exit the ceremony room.
Personal information
You are welcome to include personal touches to the ceremony in the form of specific information about you as a couple. You may wish to reflect on your memories together or include where and when you first met. Personal details are essential to creating a memorable, unique wedding experience.
Readings and poems
You are welcome to add up to two non-religious readings to your ceremony. This could be an extract from a book, quote or song lyric, or poem written especially for the day.
We recommend that each reading is about three minutes or less in length. Our registrar would be happy to present any readings for you, or you could ask one of your guests - the choice is yours.
Consider passages from literature, poetry, movies, or songs that have spoken to you over the years and have served to clarify what love, marriage, and commitment mean. These are all wonderful options for ceremony readings.
There are many resources available online which you can access for ideas and tips on selecting the perfect reading.
Exchange of rings
The exchanging of rings is a tradition that many couples continue to do today. If you choose to exchange rings you can also honour someone with the role of ring bearer, a lovely way of including someone special in your ceremony.
As this isn't a legal obligation you can choose not to exchange rings, only exchange one ring, or exchange something else entirely, the choice is yours.
Ending of the ceremony and congratulations
We will announce you out using whichever words you would like to use, this can be Mr and Mrs, Mr and Mr, Mrs and Mrs, or just your first names, the choice is yours.
You also have the option to play a final song as you exit the ceremony room, followed by your guests.
Other options for your day
Your guests
It is important to make sure that everyone you want to invite to your ceremony can attend. Please check to make sure that the room or venue you have booked has the right capacity to accommodate everyone you want to attend.
All your guests count towards the room capacity. This includes children and babies of all ages. However, you (the couple), the registrars and the photographer are not included towards the room capacity.
Many of our venues have multiple rooms so please check with them to be clear on which one you are using.
Involving your pet in the celebrations
When you have a pet, they become a very important part of your life. For some couples, friends and family are the most important wedding attendees. For others, it's the dog!
If your venue is pet friendly, then we’d be delighted for your pet to attend – or to play a part in your wedding ceremony. We recommend you contact the venue for their policy on pets or animals attending and let them know what you’re planning.
If your ceremony is taking place at one of our Registration Office ceremony suites, we have health and safety rules that mean only assistance animals or service dogs are allowed inside our buildings.
Holding your ceremony outside
As long as the venue has a civil ceremony licence, then you can have a legally binding outdoor ceremony anywhere within its boundary.
The great British weather can be unpredictable at the best of times so you will need to have a backup plan in place should there be some adverse weather that scuppers your outdoor plans.
If you would like to hold your ceremony outdoors, please speak to your venue in the first instance and include this on your ceremony plan.
Involving other celebrants
You may want to involve other celebrants in your day. This maybe to have a blessing or other aspect not usually included in a civil ceremony.
We will always conduct and conclude our ceremony as a service on its own. We also only allow Lincolnshire registrars to conduct our civil ceremonies.
We are happy to work round other celebrants or celebrations you wish to have on the day. Please contact us if you have any specific requests around this. We are happy to discuss options to get the right flow for your day.
Your ceremony script
We have carefully created options for your ceremony. When completing your plan, please feel free to provide an additions or amendments you would like to the script. We are happy to discuss these with you to make your day extra special.
Receiving your ceremony plan
We will contact you about six months before your big day to ask you about the options you would like for your ceremony. We recommend you submit your choices four to six weeks before your ceremony date.
It is important not to make your choices too early, give yourself plenty of time to change your minds.
Sample scripts
We provide our scripts as downloads to help you see what will happen at your ceremony. You do not need to remember any wording. You are also welcome to request changes as part of completing your ceremony plan.
Examples:
Civil partnership script example
If you have any questions about your ceremony please contact the ceremonies team.