Couples often assume that they have only three options for getting legally married in England and Wales:
- In church
- At a register office (with a registrar)
- At an approved premises/licensed venue (with a registrar)
Registrar costs vary widely across the country - in some places, it costs up to £1,000 for two registrars to attend the venue, depending on the day of the week. And registrars pretty much follow a standard script, so you get the same words as everyone else with usually only a little wriggle room for you to personalise it.
However, there is a fourth option which more and more people are learning about. This involves completing your legal marriage in a ‘Statutory Ceremony’ with registrars (usually a few days/weeks before your wedding day) and then having an independent celebrant conduct a personalised ceremony on your big day.
Did you know you can get legally married for £122.50*?
(* prices correct for England and Wales in 2025 and include giving notice of marriage, the statutory ceremony fee and one copy of the marriage certificate)
Really? Oh yes! It’s a best-kept secret. It’ll cost £42 for you each to give notice of marriage (which you have to do, wherever and however you get married) and £56 for a 'Statutory Ceremony' at a registrar's office, plus £12.50 for one copy of the marriage certificate.
So how do you do that?
1. Give notice of marriage with your local registrar (costs £42 per person) at least 30 days before you wish to complete your legal ceremony
2. Book a Statutory Ceremony with your local registrar (costs £56 plus £12.50 for one copy of the marriage certificate). The statutory ceremony is a "no frills" civil marriage ceremony at which you both say your legal vows and sign the legal paperwork in front of two witnesses. It’s really a formal meeting to complete the marriage contract rather than a grand ceremonial occasion.
Then, you’re legally married and you can have your wedding ANYWHERE and ANYHOW, with absolutely no restrictions (for legal reasons, registrars cannot permit any religious words or music in the ceremony, for example).
Photo courtesy of Kim Shaw Photography
Photo courtesy of Martin Wacknier
Couples can then have some fun with their wedding and work with an independent celebrant to create a ceremony that is truly memorable, personalised 100% and conducted by someone they've chosen (rather than whoever happens to be on the registrars' rota that day)...
BUT, you don’t have to get legally married before your celebrant-led wedding - most couples do, but it’s perfectly OK to have a quiet statutory ceremony afterwards - it’s up to you. The only difference is that the celebrant would not be permitted to refer to you as Mr and Mrs, for example (because you wouldn’t be), or to mention terms such as ‘marriage’ or ‘husband/wife’. Technically, this would be a ‘commitment ceremony’ but it could include all the bits you would normally associate with a wedding, if that’s what you wanted.
So, it's another option to think about...
Note: it's really important to point out that wedding ceremonies conducted by independent celebrants in England and Wales are symbolic and are not currently legally binding.