registry office wedding - help and thoughts :)

EllieJ-x

hi everyone, ill just get straight to it ...

me and oh have been together for 7 years we have 2 kids, a mortgage and a car, we've been engaged for 5 years. I always wanted to get married and have my grandpa walk me down the isle but he sadly died last year so now i just want to get married so that my nan and my oh's nan and grandad can see us do it so we are thinking a registry office wedding.

my questions though are ....
has anyone had a registry office wedding? What are they like? Ivee never been to one so have no idea what to expect

what should i wear? I thinks big wedding dress might be to much but don't really no what else i could wear

can you make any personal touches to the room with flowers or anything?

and ideas really for what to do after?

my oh is really bad at speeches and stuff like that so we where only going to have our parents and grandparents there and our kids obvs. He has alot of brothers and sisters though.

any help, thoughts and ideas will be greatly appreciated!!

thanks guys xx

EllieJ-x

was typing on my phone so sorry for mistakes lol, so difficult typing on it x

claire16c

I've been to 3 registry office weddings. You can wear as big a dress as you like

The speeches etc are normally done at the reception afterwards so your OH doesn't need to do it straight away or do anything he doesn't want to do.

I think the personal touches will depend on the exact office you go to, but you can definitely carry a bouquet, and have bridesmaids with flowers if you choose.

It's just like a church wedding minus the religious stuff. A lot of the vows etc are the same.

EllieJ-x

thank you!! Were not overly religious so that's alright for us! I'm going to phone and book a look round our local registry office next week.

the dress is a big thing for me in like how confused i am!! I'm really unsure what to go for!

cazziebo

Been to a few registry office weddings. Some brides wore full wedding dress, others just nicely dressed. The actual ceremony part is only 20 mins half an hour and the office I've been in have been lovely rooms. I wouldn't bother with decorating the registry office.

A lot of restaurants and hotels do private dining rooms for 4+ people at no additional charge to the menu. If you did this, you could decorate the room (sure the staff would do that for you) and do cake cutting, photos etc there?

Congratulations!

EllieJ-x

I'm thinking like a lipsy vip dress but in a cream, so its kind of like a wedding dress but not to big.

i love the hotel idea that could be really good to invite a few friends and all the brothers and sisters after so theyre still included!

you know i had never thought about a cake!

claire16c

Just go to some shops and try stuff on. I was quite set on an idea of what I wanted until I did that & completely changed my mind!

If you do go to a hotel check out the prices of getting married there too, see what works out best

TBagpuss

You can wear whatever you want. It's very common for brides to waer big dresses - but you could just turn up in jeans and a T shirt if you wanted.

My auntie chose to wear a nice trouser suit from Monsoon at their wedding, another friend wore a cream 'cocktail' style dress, another wore a full length, off-the-peg 'evening' dress - so whatever you want and feel comfortable in.

At the registry offices I 've been to there have been some flowers in the room where the ceremony is performed but these are part of the furniture, you don't get to chose colours. You can of course carry a bouquet.

What some friends of mine chose to do was to have the actual ceremony at the registry office very privately - just the two of them and 2 witnesses. They then had their reception the following day, which started with them making their own personal vows to each other and which allowed them tio include their children in the vows they made.

it's not compulsory to have speeches at the reception. And if you chose to have one, you could make a speech instead of your husband, if you wanted (the key things a groom does in his speech is to thank the bridesmaids and best man - you don't have to have them, either, if you don't want)

TBagpuss

just to add - if you have one near you - go to one of the Oxfam bridal shops - they have lots of second hand dresses and unlike bridal shops they will let you take phjotos so you can get a better idea of how the dresses look on. If you find one you like, it'll be a lot cheaper than buying new. They also have various accessories too.

Hotels which are licensed to hold weddings will often to a 'wedding package' which includes the ceremony, catering, and sometimes rooms, so that's also an option. They will often do deals on the rooms, too.

EllieJ-x

we are in Fleetwood so i think the only hotel close would be the north euston, my oh's cousin married there and i know she said it got pretty expensive in the end, ill look into getting married there and if not im thinking a meal with the rest of the family and maybe some friends after wards in a private room (if it works out cheaper still) might be a nice idea and then we could have a cake and decorate maybe with some flowers on the tables etc.
were trying to do it on a small budget so i cant go to mad!
thank you fr the dress ideas! I'm getting excited! We only decided the other day to do it like this and hoping to be married in April or may!! X

newcook

I’ve been to a few registry office weddings - they are short and sweet and you can wear whatever style of dress you want!
However, have you considered having a small wedding in a local hotel? It will then also save the travel from registry office to venue and guests (and you and OH) can stay over the night before and not have to panic about traffic etc. you can then decorate the room how you want and even have an aisle in the middle of the chairs.

I’ve also found that with registry office weddings it gives the feeling of ‘production line’ (especially if it’s a busy day). If the wedding before you is over-running you then have to wait, then wait for them while they finish taking photos etc and may then feel rushed as there’s another wedding party hot on your heels while you have your photos done!