Registering a Marriage
What is the Legal Requirement for a Valid Marriage?
The Marriage Act 1949 requires generally that a marriage must take place either in a register office, approved premise or in a religious building that has been officially registered for marriages by the Registrar General for England and Wales. All Register Offices have lists of buildings where marriages can legally take place. The staff there can also give advice about how places of worship can be registered for marriages.
What is the Legal Requirement for a Valid Marriage
Our Register Office and Ceremony Room
We have two tastefully decorated Ceremony rooms at Bracknell House. The Register Office, which can seat a maximum of six including the Bride and Groom and the Bracknell Room with seating for a maximum of thirty guests including the Bride and Groom.
The office has two floors in an attractive listed building. There is easy access for the disabled and for parents with pushchairs.
We have a well maintained garden at the back of the building, which provides an attractive background for photographs.
There is a free car park at the front of the building and also two large free car parks nearby.
Images of the Register Office and Ceremony Room
What do I need to do to get married?
Contact your local Register office. If you are resident in the borough of Milton Keynes please call 01908 372101 and press option 2 between 9.30am and 4.30pm to arrange an appointment to give notice of marriage.
Can I get married somewhere else?
Local Councils are now able to licence other places for civil marriages as long as they are suitable. This means it is now possible for civil weddings to take place in hotels, banqueting suites, stately homes and other historic buildings providing the building has been licensed.
Can I get married somewhere else
Links to approved marriage venues
What documents will I need to show?
When you give notice of your marriage you need to provide proof of your identity and nationality, your birth certificate together with your valid passport are ideal for this purpose. If you have never held a passport or your passport is not available for some reason we can accept other proof of identity. Our staff will be happy to tell you what we can accept.
What documents will I need to show
Signing the register
After the ceremony the Registrar will record the marriage in the register: You and your witnesses must then sign the register. The bride signs in the name by which she was known before the ceremony.
The Superintendent Registrar and the Registrar will sign the register and the Registrar will present the marriage certificate to the bride. If you would like extra copies of your marriage certificate we will be pleased to post these to you afterwards.
Witnesses
You will need to ask two people who may be friends or relatives, if they will witness your marriage. They should be over the age of 16 and must be able to understand the ceremony. There is no need for them to be worried about this. All they have to do is watch the ceremony and sign the register.
How much will it cost?
There are nationally set fees for giving notice to the superintendent registrar and for the registrar's attendance at a marriage at a register office or religious building However, the fee for the attendance of the superintendent registrar and registrar at a marriage in an approved premises (for example, at a hotel) is set by the local authority. The Superintendent registrar of the district where you wish to marry will be able to provide you with details of the fees payable.
Register Office Fees
Marriage Certificate Request
Apply online for a marriage certificate
If you do not have internet access please contact The Registrars Office on 01908 372101 to request an application form.
