Your ceremony booking confirmation will advise you of your pre- ceremony interview start time. This is scheduled 30 minutes prior to your ceremony start time and you must ensure that you are ready and available to be seen.
A West Northamptonshire or North Northamptonshire ceremony officer will conduct the pre-ceremony interview and ceremony and will be happy to answer any last minute questions that you may have.
Arrival
You will be greeted by the ceremony officer for a brief meeting. This meeting is to ensure that all the information given at your notice of marriage appointment is still correct as of the day. You will also be asked to confirm if you wish to include your natural, step or adopted parent's full names and occupations.
These details will be pre - recorded on your schedule and any changes will be amended with your confirmation. You will be asked to initial any changes during this meeting. So that the schedule is correct on the day and when entered onto the electronic register the information is accurate.
You will also be advised that your certificate will be sent out to you in the post and an address for posting will be agreed at the time. This is different if you are marrying in a place of worship please see our Marriage Certificate section for further information.
Marriage certificates - Your Day in Northamptonshire
Don't be late! It may have been 'fashionable' for the bride to be late but don't be - you and your guests must be on time as the ceremony officer will have other ceremonies to attend on the same day.
Please consider this when advising guests of their arrival time. See your ceremony confirmation letter correspondence for the suggested arrival time.
For details of guest and seating capacity in our ceremony rooms, please see our registration office pages. For information on approved venue seating, please contact the venue.
Typical order of events
A typical running order for the ceremony is:
Marriage ceremony
- Introduction and welcome
- Declaration of freedom to marry
- First reading
- Contracting words
- Exchanging of rings
- Additional promises
- Second reading
- Signing the register
Marriage registration
- Introduction and welcome
- Declaration of freedom to marry
- Contracting words
- Exchanging rings
- Signing the register
No other embellishments for a marriage registration can be offered due to the location and limited time available for a registration. Guests are limited to the two witnesses only.
The marriage legalities conclude with the formal signing of the schedule which will take place after you have been declared husband(s) and/or wife(s).
Marriage ceremony words
In a marriage ceremony you will say the following: