Booking a registrar terms and conditions

Booking your registrars

If you wish to make a booking with the Registration Service to attend your marriage, you will need to read the terms and conditions below before completing the booking request form. Once your form is submitted, a member of staff will contact you to confirm the booking, and take payment of your deposit. If your ceremony is less than 6 weeks away, the full payment will need to be made for your ceremony.

The Registrar fees for ceremonies from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 are:

Wolverhampton Register Office - Guest are limited to the ceremony couple and 2 guests only.	Wednesday	£68.50
The City Suite - Guests are limited to the couple and 60 guests.	Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday / Bank Holiday	£260.00 £400.00 £400.00 £450.00
Attendance at licensed venues throughout the City including the Art Gallery and Bantock House and Museum.	Monday - Friday Saturday Sunday / Bank Holiday	£490.00 £570.00 £635.00

Ceremony Bookings - Terms & Conditions

To book a ceremony please read the following terms and conditions of booking, then sign and return a copy to Wolverhampton Register Office, retaining a copy for yourself.

Civil marriage and civil partnership ceremony bookings

Your ceremony booking is accepted on the following conditions:

• That no legal impediment to the marriage or civil partnership exists.
• Notice of intention to marry or enter a civil partnership is given at least 29 days before the ceremony, or at least 70 days before the ceremony if either party is a non-EEA national.
• That any foreign divorce or dissolution papers are accepted by the Registrar General where applicable.
• That Home Office permission is granted where applicable.
• That all fees falling due are paid in full.

Other ceremony bookings (naming, renewal of vows)

Your ceremony booking is accepted on the following conditions:

• All fees falling due are paid in full.
• These ceremonies do not confer any legal status or rights.

Conversion of Civil Partnership to Marriage

A conversion is conducted in the presence of a Superintendent Registrar with the following conditions:-

• Evidence of identify is provided
• Evidence of present address is provided
• Evidence of the original Civil Partnership registration is provided
• Couple will be required to sign a statement to confirm that they have not dissolved their Civil Partnership and that they both wish to convert to marriage.

A celebratory ceremony may be booked on the same conditions as the ‘Other Ceremony Bookings (naming & renewal of vows)’ above

Booking fees for all ceremonies

Booking fee for all approved premises
A non-refundable booking fee of £100.00 is payable at the time of reserving the date and time of your ceremony. Please note this fee is non-refundable in all circumstances.

Amendment fee for all ceremonies
An amendment fee of £50 is payable on each occasion that details of a booking are changed and includes changing the date, time and venue of a ceremony. All details changed at the same time are only subject to one amendment fee. Where applicable, this may require an updated or additional ceremony fee to be paid. It may also be necessary for you to give fresh notices, as these are only specific to your chosen venue and are only valid for one year.

Ceremony fees

Wolverhampton Register Office

• Payment of £68.50 is required in full when the ceremony is booked.

Amendment fee for all ceremonies

• The balance of the full ceremony fee should be paid no later than 6 weeks prior to the ceremony, or at the time of booking if the ceremony is due in less than 6 weeks.
• If the full fee has not been received by the due date your booking will be cancelled. Please ensure that we have up to date contact telephone numbers and e-mail addresses for you.

Cancellation of booking

In the unfortunate event that you need to cancel your ceremony, you will be required to notify us in writing as soon as possible, or complete a cancellation form in person at the office. The cost of cancelling your booking is the fee you paid at the time of booking your date. Please note that when the full fee has been paid and the ceremony is cancelled within 6 weeks of the ceremony, no refunds will be given.

Approved Premises
The £100.00 advanced payment will be regarded as your cancellation fee.

Cancellation of Booking by Wolverhampton Registration Services

Your ceremony may be cancelled by Wolverhampton Registration Service if

• The total fees have not been paid by the required date.
• Legal preliminaries have not, or cannot, be completed.

In both of the above cases, the £100 advanced payment will be retained by the Council.

Ceremony content

The Register Office
Our standard ceremony (subject to covid-19 current guidelines) will be delivered. The use of confetti is not allowed inside or directly outside the civic centre.

Approved Premises
Our standard ceremony (subject to covid-19 current gudelines) will be delivered.

Room capacity

For reasons of health and safety, comfort and to comply with fire regulations, the number of guests must not exceed the capacity that the venue is licensed for. Please liaise with your venue to ensure that the number they are licensed for is not exceeded; this will save any disappointment on your special day.

The Register Office – Guest numbers are limited to the couple and 2 guests.

The City Suite - Guest numbers are limited to the couple and 60 guests.

Confetti

No confetti or party poppers should be dispersed inside the civic centre, neither in the register office or the City Suite or the vicinity of the building. Should confetti be thrown or dispersed through cannons you will be liable for a £50 cleaning fee.

Liability

The Wolverhampton Registration Service will not accept liability for:-

• Any delay or loss caused by your (or any of your guests) late or non-arrival. The Registrars attending your ceremony have ceremonies to administer throughout the day and as such cannot delay the start of the pre-arranged time for your ceremony.
• 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 (or stopped from proceeding once commenced) because:-
  a. It would be void if it went ahead
  b. An offence under the Marriage or Civil Partnerhsip Acts has been committed
  c. It would be against the public interest and
  d. All group gatherings have been banned by Parliament/The Government eg. in a pandemic situation
• Any loss or delay caused by a ‘Force Majeure’ event. A ‘Force Majeure’ event means any but not limited to the following:- war, civil war, armed conflict, terrorist attack, governmental action, fire, flood, severe weather conditions of any sort, pandemic situation or any other act or matter, which notwithstanding the reasonable diligence and foresight of Wolverhampton City Council is beyond their reasonable control.
• The failure of any music system or
• Failure, neglect, non compliance or omissions caused by any venue which is not owned by Wolverhampton City council.

We strongly recommend that you take out ceremony insurance to cover any losses or expenses incurred.Wolverhampton Registration Services cannot recommend any particular provider to you.