Terms and conditions for weddings and ceremonies

Civil marriage and civil partnership ceremony bookings

Your ceremony booking is accepted on the condition that:

• no legal impediment to the marriage or civil partnership exists and legal preliminaries are completed within statutory time limits
• any foreign divorce/dissolution papers are accepted by the Registrar General where applicable
• the ceremony fee is paid
• the requested date and time of the ceremony are available within the commitments of the West Northamptonshire Registration Service

Other ceremony bookings (naming, renewal of vows and citizenship)

Your ceremony booking is accepted, on the condition that:

• proof of birth or prior marriage / civil partnership taking place is provided
• the ceremony fee is paid
• the requested date and time of the ceremony are available within the commitments of the West Northamptonshire Registration Service
• citizenship ceremonies are subject to regulations imposed by the Home Office therefore West Northamptonshire Registration Service cannot accept any liability for circumstances outside our control

Ceremony fees

Ceremony fees are payable in full at the time of booking. The ceremony fee includes the statutory fee for 1 certificate.

Our fees

The West Northamptonshire Registration Service fees are subject to change on 1 April each year. As we take bookings up to 2 years in advance, if 1 April falls between the time of booking and the date of your ceremony the Registration Service reserves the right to pass on any future fee increases to you.

All payments should be made by debit or credit card. Alternative arrangements can be made where this is not possible.

Administration fee

An administration fee is payable whenever details of a booking are changed and include (but is not limited to) changing the time, date or venue of a ceremony following the confirmed booking.

Marriage and civil partnership fees

A fee of £40 (including VAT will apply for cancellation, change of date, time and venue to an existing booking for:

• Wedding celebration packages
• Naming ceremonies
• Renewal of vows
• Conversions of an existing civil partnership to a marriage ceremony

Cancellation of bookings by the West Northamptonshire Registration Service

Your ceremony may be cancelled by the West Northamptonshire Registration Service if:

• the total fees have not been paid
• legal preliminaries cannot be completed

Where a ceremony is unable to take place due to legal restrictions identified during the notice of marriage or notice of civil partnership meeting a full refund will be made with an administration fee applied.

No refund will be made if the couple fails to notify the Registration Service after the notice of marriage or notice of civil partnership of any restrictions that affect the legality of the ceremony or registration.

Cancellation of booking by the couple

If you need to cancel your ceremony you will be required to notify us in writing. Any ceremony payments made will be subject to the following refund schedule:

• more than 6 months before the ceremony date you will receive a full refund of the fees paid (subject to the inclusion of an administration fee)
• between 6 months and 3 months before the ceremony date you will receive a 75% refund of the fees paid (subject to the inclusion of an administration fee)
• between 3 months and 30 days before the ceremony date you will receive a 50% refund of the fees paid (subject to the inclusion of an administration fee)
• less than 30 days before the ceremony or failure to cancel in writing before the ceremony date no refund will be made on fees paid

Ceremony content

The West Northamptonshire Registration Service will provide the ceremony.

Marriage or civil partnership ceremonies are delivered at an approved venue of your choice. The content of the ceremony has a range of additional options that need to be agreed upon with the Registration Service in advance of the ceremony.

Marriage or civil partnership registrations are delivered at our registrar's offices and are subject to specific booking conditions and exclusive to weekday availability. The content of a marriage or civil partnership registration is predetermined and not subject to customisation.

All ceremonies are exclusively delivered by West Northamptonshire Registration Service staff to ensure a high degree of solemnity in keeping with the occasion and legal requirements are maintained. The West Northamptonshire Registration Service reserve the right to make the final decision on any wording used, and will not accept liability for any omission, which may be caused by reasons beyond its control.

Our team

The West Northamptonshire Registration Service will allocate personnel to attend your ceremony and reserves the right to substitute other experienced and qualified staff in case of sickness or other unforeseen circumstances on the day.

Room capacity

For fire, safety and comfort the number of guests must not exceed the capacity of the room. Additional guests will be excluded from the ceremony. Details of the room capacity for Registration Office venues can be found on our website. Please contact the approved venue directly for their room capacity.

Liability

The West Northamptonshire Registration Service will not accept liability for:

• the failure of any music system provided by the venue, yourself or a third party
• any delay or loss caused by your late or non-arrival at the due date and time
• any loss caused by a request from you or your representatives to delay the ceremony
• any loss or compensation where a ceremony is stopped from proceeding because (a) it would be void if it went ahead, (b) an offence under the Marriage or Civil Partnership Acts would be committed, and (c) it would be against the public interest
• any decision to delay the ceremony at the discretion of the West Northamptonshire Registration Service

Late start of a ceremony

The West Northamptonshire Registration Service will not accept any liability where a ceremony is cancelled on the day due to the late arrival of the couple and or any guests. We reserve the right to take appropriate action to ensure other ceremonies our staff need to attend are delivered at the agreed time. No refund will be made in these circumstances.

General

In the event of a 'Force Majeure', the West Northamptonshire Registration Service will endeavour to perform your ceremony on your chosen day. We strongly recommend that you take out ceremony insurance to cover losses or expenses incurred in the case of events outside our control.

'Force Majeure' means war, civil war, armed conflict, terrorist attack, governmental action, fire, flood, severe weather conditions, pandemic or epidemic or any other act or matter which notwithstanding the reasonable diligence and foresight of West Northamptonshire Council and its partner providers, is beyond their reasonable control.

Any reference to working days does not include Saturday, Sunday, Bank or Public holidays.

Approval of the venue is granted only in connection with the provision of ceremonies. The West Northamptonshire Registration Service cannot accept liability for the failure or neglect on behalf of the venue, for any agreement between you and the venue for the use or provision of any services and/or facilities.

Any complaint or claim must be made in writing to the West Northamptonshire Registration Service within 21 working days of the ceremony.

Marriage and Civil Partnership Acts - means the Acts of Parliament (and any regulations made under those Acts) covering the legal preliminaries to, the solemnization and registration of a civil marriage / civil partnership either in a register office or approved premises within England and Wales.

Venue - means Approved Premises approved by the West Northamptonshire Registration Service under the Civil Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) Regulations 2005 for the solemnization and registration of civil marriages and civil partnerships.

Customer complaints

The West Northamptonshire Registration Service considers customer complaints very seriously. We subscribe to the principles of The Local Government Ombudsman - Commission for Local Administration in England - Remedies Guidance on good practice.

Last updated 09 April 2024