Religious venue ceremonies

If you choose to marry in a religious venue, the registration process differs slightly from ceremonies conducted by registrars. 

Before your marriage can take place, both parties will usually be required to give notice of marriage through their local register office. This is a legal requirement and must be completed within the prescribed timescales before a marriage can proceed. 

Church of England and Church in Wales marriages 

Marriage preliminaries for the Church of England and Church in Wales differ from those for other religious venues. 

In most cases, couples marrying in a Church of England or Church in Wales church will have their banns read before the marriage and will not be required to give notice at a register office. Following the ceremony, the clergy or authorised person will complete a marriage document, which serves a similar purpose to a marriage schedule. This document is then returned to the register office so that the marriage can be legally registered. 

However, if either party is subject to immigration control and required to undergo immigration referral procedures, they may need to give notice of marriage through a register office. Following completion of the notice period, a Marriage Schedule will be issued and must be signed during the ceremony. 

Other religious venue marriages 

For marriages taking place in other religious venues, both parties will normally be required to give notice of marriage through their local register office.

Marriage schedules 

The way marriages are registered changed on 4 May 2021. Instead of signing a marriage register at the venue, couples now sign a marriage schedule, which is issued by the register office before the ceremony. 

If you are marrying at a religious venue within the Reading district, you will need to contact us to arrange for your marriage schedule to reach your chosen venue. We can either: 

• Post the schedule directly to the venue; or 
• Arrange for it to be collected from Reading Register Office. 

Registering your marriage 

Following your ceremony, the completed marriage schedule or marriage document must be returned to the register office as soon as possible and no later than 21 days after the ceremony. 

It is the responsibility of the venue’s authorised person or clergy to ensure the paperwork is returned. However, they may nominate another individual to return it on their behalf. 

Once we have received the completed paperwork, we will register your marriage on the national registration system. 

Your marriage certificate 

Marriage certificates are not issued automatically following a religious marriage. 

Once your marriage has been registered, you can purchase certified copies of your marriage certificate.

Order your marriage certificate 

Please note that certificates can only be issued once the completed marriage schedule or marriage document has been returned to us and the marriage has been registered.  

Once registration is complete, certificates can be ordered through our website or by contacting the register office directly.