A Northamptonshire County Council 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 on the certificates for marriage are correct. You will also be asked to confirm the information given on your notices, including your natural, step or adopted father’s full names and occupations.
These details will be recorded in the marriage register and on your marriage certificate(s) and any commemorative certificates.
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 register 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: