Religious ceremonies

Incorporating your faith into your big day can be a special way of including this key aspect of your lives together.

Hampshire Ceremonies conduct civil ceremonies, which are unable to include religious readings and music, or be held in a religious venue. If you want to have your celebration in a religious building or include religious elements, please follow our guidance.

Venue

A religious wedding can take place at any registered religious building. This includes:

• an Anglican church (Church of England or Church in Wales)
• any other religious building, including a gurdwara, temple, or mosque, registered for marriage

Same-sex couples can get married in a religious building if it’s registered for the marriage of same-sex couples, but not in an Anglican church. You can have a civil partnership ceremony in a religious building that has been licensed by the local authority.

Giving notice

If you’re getting married in a Church of England church, the vicar or minister will read banns, so you won’t typically need to give notice. If you’re getting married in another religious building, like a Methodist, Baptist, Catholic or Unitarian church, synagogue, mosque, or gurdwara, you’ll need to give notice of marriage.

Getting married in an Anglican church (Church of England or Church in Wales)

If you want to be married in an Anglican church (Church of England  or Church in Wales), you should speak to the vicar of the church to arrange your ceremony date and time. They’ll also be able to advise you of the process and costs involved.

You don’t usually need to give notice of marriage at a register office if you are getting married in an Anglican church, if you’re both  British or Irish citizens, or have settled, pre-settled status or a pending application under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS).

If either of you aren’t British or Irish citizens, or you don’t have settled, pre-settled status or a pending application under the EUSS, you might need to give notice. Read our guide about how to give notice of marriage.

Getting married in any other religious building

If you want to get married in a religious building, first arrange to see the person in charge of marriages at your desired venue to arrange your ceremony.

Once you’ve booked your ceremony, you must give formal notice of marriage in the district(s) where you live.

Registering the marriage

Some religious buildings have an authorised person who’s responsible for registering marriages there. They’ll sign the marriage schedule or marriage document. If the building where you’re marrying doesn’t have an authorised person or that person isn’t available, you’ll need to book a registrar to attend and register the marriage instead. Please contact us as soon as possible to book their attendance.

A registrar’s attendance at a religious building will incur a fee.

Pre-order your marriage certificate for a ceremony in a religious building in Hampshire

You can pre-order your marriage certificates.

Once your ceremony has taken place, you’ll need to deliver your marriage schedule back to your local registration office. Please allow 15 working days after the date the schedule is returned to receive your certificates. 

If your ceremony has already taken place and you need a new certificate, please see our guide to ordering a certified copy certificate.