Local register office said come back next year. Fair?

PaulMike

We are planning to tie a knot.

Spoke with the nearest register office, and they said they are fully booked until next year.

1. Is it possible to use another register office? The .gov page suggests only "local" register office can be used, and our local town hall would not be our preferred (it's not the nicest).
2. I could not have imagined there's a queue of people wanting to get married that would keep the office busy until winter 2018. There must be a way to register marriage sooner in the UK, no?
3. There's also a waiting list to have an appointment to submit the intention to get married. Luckily, that appointment is already within a month.

Seriously, do we really need to fly to Vegas if we want to get married this year?

Brighton_belle

You can marry where ever you like.

clairec79

Can't see it, we went to ours and asked when the next slot was - and it the day after the legal requirement to wait

pimento

Not Chelsea or Marylebone, is it? They'll be popular because they're 'chic'.

I thought you had to state your intention to marry at your local one but could then do the deed wherever you like.

Gavin83

PaulMike wrote: »

We are planning to tie a knot.

Spoke with the nearest register office, and they said they are fully booked until next year.

1. Is it possible to use another register office? The .gov page suggests only "local" register office can be used, and our local town hall would not be our preferred (it's not the nicest).
2. I could not have imagined there's a queue of people wanting to get married that would keep the office busy until winter 2018. There must be a way to register marriage sooner in the UK, no?
3. There's also a waiting list to have an appointment to submit the intention to get married. Luckily, that appointment is already within a month.

Seriously, do we really need to fly to Vegas if we want to get married this year?

What registry office are you looking to get married in and how soon are you looking to get married? The popular options are likely to have a lengthy waiting list.

pimento wrote: »

I thought you had to state your intention to marry at your local one but could then do the deed wherever you like.

That's correct.

TBagpuss

You can marry wherever you want. So your options would be look at another registry office, to look at other licensed venues (note that availability will depend on when a registrar is available)
You may find it is worth enquiring about different dates. If you're willing to get married on (say) a Wednesday afternoon you will almost certainly have a much shorter wait than if you want to marry on a Saturday.

FBaby

You can marry wherever you want, but many register offices will only accept local residents.

barbarawright

FBaby wrote: »

You can marry wherever you want, but many register offices will only accept local residents.

Really? As a matter of interest, which ones? I thought they had to accept anyone provided you gave 28 days notice. Why would they want to turn people away? (A register office makes a lot of money for a council)

This really surprises me. Surely a register office can rustle up a few more rooms in a council building if they've got a six month waiting list. And there must be other places in the area licenced for weddings. It doesn't take that long to train a registrar.

onomatopoeia99

barbarawright wrote: »

Really? As a matter of interest, which ones? I thought they had to accept anyone provided you gave 28 days notice. Why would they want to turn people away? (A register office makes a lot of money for a council)

This really surprises me. Surely a register office can rustle up a few more rooms in a council building if they've got a six month waiting list. And there must be other places in the area licenced for weddings. It doesn't take that long to train a registrar.

Bristol say you have to have lived there for seven days before giving notice of intention to marry. They don't say if that's seven days immediately preceeding or any seven days.

gwynlas

Check local government website, whilst local register office might be the cheapest it is possible that they offer other venues but charge extra. Our councils cheapest venue is in the county town an hours journey from us.

ceh209

Are we getting confused on whether we're talking about:


- Giving notice of intent to marry or;
- Getting married at your local registry office

You have to give notice at the 'local' registry office i.e. one in the district you live in. The marriage can take place at any licensed venue, including any other registry office.