Cost of Kent registry office wedding - rip off!

ostrichnomore_2

Friend is looking at getting married at a registry office.

In Kent there is a strange two tier system.

You can have a bog standard registration of marriage that costs only the usual statutory fee of £45. Seems fair enough. HOWEVER - this is only available at some registry offices, is only Monday to Friday, includes no part of anything other than the legal basics of saying the words and signing register (so no music, readings etc) AND you can only have 4 guests!

To actually have a nice normal ceremony and be allowed guests or marry at weekend you have to book a 'Kentish Ceremony', which at her local registry office is either £440 or £667, depending on which room you pick. there's one registry office that costs over £1000!

So she thought, hey maybe it would be cheaper overall to do a package deal at a hotel. But the registrars charge £592 to attend and do their 'Kentish ceremony' thing (no cheap option.) Unless you are getting married at a place of worship then they charge £82 to come and do their bit with the legalities.

I think it's a complete rip-off. She's upset as they are trying to do it on the cheap - but her idea of cheap didn't mean just the couple and 4 people stood in a room doing paperwork for 5 minutes!

Is this normal in other parts of the country?

All the registry office weddings I've been to have had a little ceremony included in it, short but nice, with guests welcome (as many as you can fit in the room, basically) without the couple paying extra, as far as I'm aware. I also thought it was a legal requirement for weddings to be in theory open to anyone to attend (in case they have an objection).

Dekazer

In my experience of looking for a venue, yes, Registry Offices all tend to take this approach.

The legal bit of getting married is very straighforward - much like registering a death or birth. The price you pay for this is the minimum set.

However, if you want the bigger room (for guests), more of the registrar's time (usually out of hours - on a weekend), then you pay the larger room hire fee.

Something I found useful is that all licenced wedding venues have to be listed on the local authority's website, so you can trawl through all the venues in your chosen area comparing prices.

For reference, this is the list of fees in the area where we got married: http://www.ealing.gov.uk/info/200368/births_deaths_and_marriages/735/fees_and_charges_for_births_deaths_and_marriages

Good luck to your friend with their search. This forum is a GREAT place to get MSE tips on all the other aspects of a wedding, so I'd recommend you send them here

justme1985

I think that is pretty normal. We paid for a registrar to come out to the hotel on a Saturday so was quite expensive but it was what we wanted.

I know someone who is getting married next year and isn't prepared to pay out that much so they're getting the legal bit out of the way the day before with just a couple of witnesses, then getting a friend to conduct a ceremony in front of their friends and family the next day. It means they can have something more personal to share with everyone.

ostrichnomore_2

Things have changed since I got married then (a long time ago) that was a registry office and while it didn't have fancy ceremony included, we were allowed guests and it wasn't just 'line up here, sign here, !!!!!! off'.

Bean83

Costs seem about right to me - I am getting married on a Saturday at 2pm, and it is costing me £660 for the registrar to come to our venue and perform the ceremony. I think this is terribly expensive as the ceremony only lasts an hour or so, especially considering it is only £515 if you get married at any other time on a Saturday.

You can also have a straightforward ceremony at the registry office for £49, or a slightly posher one in the Mayor's reception room for £200. This is in the north west.

scmp

Well this is what we have in North Wales...
Venues for Marriages and Civil Partnerships

Register Office, Llandudno (seats 15 guests)
Weekdays up to 18:00 and Saturdays up to 16:00.£49.00

The Conwy Suite, Town Hall, Llandudno (seats up to 50 guests)
Weekdays & Saturdays£105.00The Conwy Suite, Town Hall, Llandudno (seats up to 50 guests)
Sundays & Bank Holidays£210.00

The Assembly Hall, Town Hall, Llandudno (seats up to 160 guests)
Weekdays & Saturdays
£155.00 The Assembly Hall, Town Hall, Llandudno (seats up to 160 guests)
Sundays & Bank Holidays£260.00All other Approved Premises i.e. Hotels etc

Weekdays£275All other Approved Premises i.e. Hotels etc
Saturdays£295All other Approved Premises i.e. Hotels etc
Sundays & Bank Holiday£345At a church up to 18:00 £88.00

Sazzarella

Sounds about right to me. It's £450 to have them come to our venue on a Saturday in Edinburgh.

Skintski

£425 to use Banbury Register Office at 4pm on a Saturday.

Toooldforthis

So expensive everything wedding related !!

jtr2803

Your friend may want to keep in mind that the Medway boroughs are separate to KCC and significantly cheaper too.

We got married at Rochester registry office mid week and I think it was about £150 but you have the cathedral and the castle right outside. The ladies there were lovely too!

MrsMGtobe

Ours is £540 for giving notice and a ceremony at our venue... Seems to be quite average, but still expensive!