Booking your civil marriage

You may marry in any Register Office or Approved Premises of your choice in England or Wales.

However, before you can marry each of you must give a notice of your intention to marry, in person, in the registration district in which you live.

Provisional Bookings

At the Isle of Wight Register Office we are happy to take a provisional booking up to two years in advance. This allows you to be able to make your other arrangements in plenty of time.

This can be done either in person or over the telephone, but only by the Bride or Groom. We are unable to take bookings from friends or relatives unless the Bride and Groom are overseas.

If you are marrying within twelve months from the date of your booking, you will be asked to arrange to give your notices of marriage within four weeks of the booking date.

If you are marrying more than twelve months from the date of your booking, the registrar will advise you as to when and where you should give your notices of marriage.

If you have any difficulties giving your notices of marriage please contact us as soon as possible.

Approved Premises

Since the introduction of the Marriage Act 1994, the Isle of Wight approved a number of licensed premises, covering a unique variety of hotels and historic buildings. Once you have provisionally booked with the venue of your choice, you should contact the Superintendent Registrar of the district where it is located. You will need to confirm that registration staff will be able to attend on your chosen date and discuss a time for the ceremony.

A locally set fee is payable for the registration staff to attend your marriage. This fee is in addition to any charged by the venue or those paid for the notices of marriage. Full details of these can be obtained from the Register Office.

Please note that Marriages cannot take place ‘outside’ or in unlicensed premises

Isle of Wight Register Office

This is now based at Seaclose Offices, Fairlee Road, Newport. The room available from Monday to Friday for Civil Ceremonies at Seaclose, holds a maximum of four guests. There is a larger room available on a Saturday morning which can hold up to 15 guests. The exterior of the building and the surrounding area provides an ideal setting for wedding photographs.

There is plenty of parking available at Seaclose Park, but it is run on a Pay and Display system. Please make sure that you have enough change for the meter.
Please bring your favourite CD to put a personal stamp on the occasion, as long as it has no religious content.

Giving Notice of Your Intention to Marry

If you are planning to be married in the Church of England, you should speak to your parish priest, who will arrange for banns to be read.

For any other marriage, whether Register Office, licensed venue or religious ceremony in a church or building other than the established church (Church of England ), you will need to give a Notice of Marriage at your local Register Office. This is by appointment with the local Superintendent Registrar. The telephone number for the Isle of Wight register Office is: 01983 823233. Notice can be given up to 12 months in advance of the ceremony.

The notice is a legal document which must be given in person by both the Bride and Groom. A friend or relative cannot do this for you regardless of your circumstances.

You must both have lived continuously in any one district of England or Wales for the eight days immediately before the date you give notice of your marriage. It does not matter if either of you move to a different address after the notice has been given. If you both live in the same district, where possible you should attend together to give your notices of marriage.

Once you have both given notice you must wait at least 15 clear days before the marriage can take place. If you are getting married in another registration district you can collect your authority for marriage from the Register Office where you gave your notice as soon as the waiting period is over. The authority for marriage is the legal document which allows your marriage to take place, and it is valid for 12 months from the date that you gave the notice of marriage.

A fee is charged for giving a Notice of Marriage - this is currently £35.00. (April 2012)

Documents you need to show us

When you give your notice of marriage there are certain documents that you will need to show the Superintendent Registrar:

Birth Certificate - to verify your age and the spelling of your name
Passport - to verify your nationality
Deed Poll document, Change of Name deed or Statutory Declaration - to show any changes to your name
Decree Absolute - if either of you has been divorced. If the divorce was not granted in the UK, you will need to produce a translation of your document. In some instances it may be necessary for a foreign divorce document to be sent to the Registrar General for verification.
Death Certificate - if either of you has been widowed (in some cases you may also need to produce a marriage certificate from your previous marriage).
Consent form - if either of you is under 18 you will need a consent form signed by the person who is responsible for you.
Proof of Address – dated within the last three months, to verify that you are living in the registration district.

Your Marriage cannot go ahead unless the legal formalities have been completed

Page last updated on: 12/11/2010