civil ceremony ?

mrbabsy

Can anybody tell me what a Civil Marriage Ceremony entails off in an hotel in Ireland?

Do you just exchange vows or what happens ?

Do you have a best man or bridesmaids?


Thanks

Eoin

Best man and bridemaids aren't a catholic thing, so I see no reason why not - remember they are normally your witnesses, so if you didn't have them, I'd imagine you'd need someone else. I'd have to imagine it's a much shorter ceremony though.

tatli_lokma

eoin wrote: »

Best man and bridemaids aren't a catholic thing, so I see no reason why not - remember they are normally your witnesses, so if you didn't have them, I'd imagine you'd need someone else. I'd have to imagine it's a much shorter ceremony though.

ceremony can be whatever you want added to the standard requirements. Ours was about 45 mins, we had our own vows as well as the standard legal requirements. We had music at different stages, readings, a candle lighting ceremony, exchanged rings, and said some vows in my husbands language also. A civil ceremony is much more flexible than a religious one and can be made incredibly personal to the couple rather than the tried and true cookie cutter church ceremony. Generally registrars are very accommodating and are happy to allow you to personalise the ceremony.

eoin, no offence, but if you don't actually know about a civil ceremony and have never been to one, then perhaps its best not to 'imagine' too much as to what it entails. I don't mean to sound bitchy, but the wording of your post infers that its not as much a ceremony as a church one, and this does not in any way need to be the case. My ceremony was very beautiful and touching, and even the old fogey church goers commented on how special it was, so we must've done something right!

smelltheglove

As above, I covered one which lasted only about 15 mns with a reading, vow and rings, but another with music, candles, even a section similar to prayers of the faithful.

One touch which I love that we do not see here often is the mixing of two different coloured sands together, I think it is done in Hawaii maybe, a sign of lives intertwining (if thats the word or spelling).

Eoin

Cincikchick wrote: »

eoin, no offence, but if you don't actually know about a civil ceremony and have never been to one, then perhaps its best not to 'imagine' too much as to what it entails. I don't mean to sound bitchy, but the wording of your post infers that its not as much a ceremony as a church one, and this does not in any way need to be the case.

You do sound a little bitchy, but no offence taken.

I have been to civil ceremonies and other non-catholic ones, and the catholic ones have invariably been the longest because of the pomp and ceremony that I imagine most couples don't really care about all that much, but know they have to have.

Cincikchick wrote: »

but the wording of your post infers that its not as much a ceremony as a church one, and this does not in any way need to be the case

If you think I consider the length of the service to mean how much of a ceremony it is, then you are mistaken. In fact, I completely agree with you on the point below.

Cincikchick wrote: »

A civil ceremony is much more flexible than a religious one and can be made incredibly personal to the couple rather than the tried and true cookie cutter church ceremony.

mrbabsy

Thanks for all the replys. So was there bridesmaids/bestman at any of ceremonys you were at ?

Eoin

mrbabsy wrote: »

Thanks for all the replys. So was there bridesmaids/bestman at any of ceremonys you were at ?

Yes, at all of them! In case my tone was taken wrong earlier - it's as much of a ceremony as a non-religious one.

cch

mrbabsy wrote: »

Thanks for all the replys. So was there bridesmaids/bestman at any of ceremonys you were at ?

You need two witnesses (over 18, of sound mind etc ) so the best man and chief bridesmaid tend to double up on this role. Any more bridesmaids and groomsmen is totally a personal decision!

smelltheglove

Bridesmaids and bestmen were included to the ones I covered. I would also agree a civil ceremony can be as moving and touching as you wish. Obviously if you dont plan any additions ie. music and readings then it is quite job done sort of thing but if you do plan it well it can be even more breathtaking than a church!

blond45

we had a civil ceremony on friday 13th 09. we did have bridesmaid-my sister inlaw and bestman was hubbys brother. we had to get non religous readings -two-. went to our local registrar in galway. you,l have to call for a date to see her cos they are so bussey. 3months notice with date of your wedding. we had to pay 200e to the registrar cos it was in a hotel. they charge by mileage ,honest,. she was lovely to chat to. shel tell you whats what or who ever you go to. went to wedding fair, they did alot of civil cermoneys so they knew what they were talking about. go to a hotel thats has a licence to do the ceremony. call around for the cheapest . we had a buffet, so much easey. our wedding was at 4pm .great time cos it wasnt a long day for all. we had a cake -one layer- cos we had loads of other deserts.. ive more info if you want it. hope this is usefull.

tatli_lokma

blond45 wrote: »

go to a hotel thats has a licence to do the ceremony. call around for the cheapest .

no hotel (or any other venue for that matter) has a 'licence' for ceremonies. If they have had other ceremonies, they may have a level of 'pre-approval' and it is a rubber stamp issue, but every off site ceremony has to be approved individually. a lot of hotels say that they are 'approved' or 'licenced' and its a bit misleading as they aren't. It really is just that other weddings have been approved so your wedding is almost certain to be also. but you must still adhere to all the requirements for an offsite wedding. I know one hotel who told me I could have my wedding outside on the terrace and that they were 'approved' for this and had done it several times - after a bit of asking around and speaking to the registry office what did I discover?? that what they told me was nonsense! you cannot get approval for an outdoor wedding at this time. They were literally just saying this to get me to book and pay a deposit!

and although it makes things easier if you go somewhere which had civil ceremonies already it makes it a bit easier, it's not a big deal to arrange your wedding for somewhere which has not had it before - we were the first to have our wedding in a local castle and it was no harder to arrange than if it were in the hotel - we still just had to get the forms signed and then the registrar approved it. like I say, once you have chosen somewhere which meets the criteria then you should be safe enough (what we actually did was send in forms for 2 venues - the castle and the hotel as a back up - had the castle not been approved we had a plan B, but as it turned out plan A went as we had hoped! but it does no harm to have a hotel as a back up if that makes you feel more comfortable.)