civil wedding

lyndak082

does anyone know how much extra the registrar charges to do the ceremony outside the office? like in a hotel for example??

gone thru all the website and that but it doesnt say....

has anyone else done this? and how much did they charge??

im hoping to do it in wexford, does it differ in price between counties?????

:D

snuggles09

I'm having a civil ceremony and i'v never thought of this! bar the 150 euro to get your licence etc i wasn't aware there was another fee was also wondering can you give the registrar a card with money on the day the way you would a priest as this is their job and they get paid etc..can we give them money?

just made a muddle of my own head there now so sorry if that reads arseways

jessbud

We are also having a civil ceremony in a hotel and as far as I know we have to pay mileage to the register. Don't know exactly how much it is but a girl on another forum had to pay an extra 92 euro for the registar to travel 18km.

lyndak082

whats that 5euro per km?? fecks sake ill collect her myself lol ha ha ha

no but seriously, i thought the 150euro for the ceremony was too good to be true.... then i read on their website that they charge an extra fee for other venues!

im gonna call them and ask them

also could anyone tell me how long they take to decide on a venue or inspect it or whatever??

:eek:

tatli_lokma

we paid about €100 (I think it was just under that, def no more) for the registrar to travel 30 miles outside Dublin.

The reason you pay extra for outside ceremonies, is because having an off-site ceremony means that the registrar can only do 2 or 3 in the day - they take into account the travel and time it takes etc. It also takes into account if the registrar needs to visit the venue prior to the day to ensure it complies.

you also have to have an arranged parking space for the registrar.

superleedsdub

lyndak082 wrote: »

does anyone know how much extra the registrar charges to do the ceremony outside the office? like in a hotel for example??

gone thru all the website and that but it doesnt say....

has anyone else done this? and how much did they charge??

im hoping to do it in wexford, does it differ in price between counties?????

:D

I`m getting married next year, booked the hotel last month. But the hotel wants to charge a minimum of €13 per head to host the civil ceremony in their hotel. We have chosen not to have the civil ceremony in the hotel but will either get married in a church or a registry office instead.....

So my advice would be to inquire with the hotel/venue of your choice before booking....

How Strange

For the love of god just ring your local office and ask them. It's a set fee so they'll tell you straight away. BTW, it's non negotiable, it's a mileage allowance for the registrar travelling to your venue.

I paid €49 or something like that. Still cheap as chips and a hell of a lot cheaper than using a church when you consider all the donations and tips you're expected to give to use it.

You have to fill in a venue approval form which the venue signs and submits on your behalf. It's usually a formality but it's important to book your date for your ceremony asap as they book up quite quick. They only do two a day so if the registrar is 50 miles from your venue for the morning ceremony (for example) they might not be able to do to make it to your venue for the afternoon so you'd have to pick another day. This is especially important during the busy season of May-Sept.

tatli_lokma

How Strange wrote: »

a hell of a lot cheaper than using a church when you consider all the donations and tips you're expected to give to use it.

and no pre-marriage course, so another €150 saved! and you don't loose those hours of your life!

How Strange

Cincikchick wrote: »

and no pre-marriage course, so another €150 saved! and you don't loose those hours of your life!

hehehe
+1 to that!

How Strange

OP, I'd also like to add that in any dealings I've had with the civil marriage people they have all been so nice, friendly, helpful and efficient. I was taken aback by all this as I'd expected alot of bureaucracy and red tape for the sake of it.

tatli_lokma

lyndak082 wrote: »

im hoping to do it in wexford, does it differ in price between counties?????

you can arrange for the registrar from that county to call out - easiest thing is to register for that county. That way the costs are minimised. Pick the office closest to your venue.

How Strange

superleedsdub wrote: »

I`m getting married next year, booked the hotel last month. But the hotel wants to charge a minimum of €13 per head to host the civil ceremony in their hotel. We have chosen not to have the civil ceremony in the hotel but will either get married in a church or a registry office instead.....

So my advice would be to inquire with the hotel/venue of your choice before booking....

:eek:
Wow, the venue we using gave us the room for free and are bending over backwards to accomodate us and we are just having a small family ceremony and meal afterwards.

I also rang another very popular venue and they were off the wall with what they quoted. We probably saved €2k by ringing around and comparing prices.

All I can say is shop around because this type of carry on is bullsh1t.

superleedsdub

How Strange wrote: »

:eek:
Wow, the venue we using gave us the room for free and are bending over backwards to accomodate us and we are just having a small family ceremony and meal afterwards.

I also rang another very popular venue and they were off the wall with what they quoted. We probably saved €2k by ringing around and comparing prices.

All I can say is shop around because this type of carry on is bullsh1t.

I agree - but we got a good deal IMO for the reception in the only hotel the 2 of us liked so we`ll just go elsewhere for the ceremony.
I still can`t believe how they can justify that price for the ceremony though.
The hotel we picked is alot more reasonable than some of the other hotels we visited for the reception and the have been great in our initial dealings....

tatli_lokma

I'm surprised that you are so shocked at having to pay for venue and registrar to travel. You do realise that many churches charge to use them and you usually have to tip the priest/sacristan, etc.

As HowStrange points out by the time you pay for the church (I have heard of churches charging up to €500 for the use of it! when we first considered a church wedding it was €250 for our church), the tip for alter boys and girls, the €150 for the pre-marriage course, possibly a dinner for the officiating priest, etc etc it is still A LOT cheaper to have a civil ceremony.

And everyone has to pay the €150 regardless of civil or religious ceremony.

If you are having a small wedding, personally I think it is still cheaper in many ways to go for hotels and other venues. A huge church for a small congregation can look a bit sad in some churches, plus some churches are so huge that if you go for flowers etc they have to be big to make an impact. In a hotel or whatever you can get away with smaller decor and some hotels will even provide this included. We used our table flowers in the ceremony venue - just got some trustworthy friends to each take one whilst we were having our photos done. That saved us a fortune, and there were loads of flowers at the ceremony - and we would have been paying for them anyway for the reception (hotel offered, but I'm a fussy cow about flowers so wanted my own).

Even with paying the registrar €100 and the venue €200, when we considered that the church wanted €250 (not inc flowers) plus the pre-marriage course of €150, plus a tip for the alter kids, flower ladies etc, we still saved I reckon in the region of €200 by having it in the castle instead of the church.

And some couples have to pay for buses for guests from the church to hotel - another cost avoided if you have a ceremony in the hotel.

Honestly I have heard of people who have paid close to €700 for a church wedding by the time you added in flowers (even though they were done by the local ladies and weren't really all that great they cost €150!), the tips, bus, pre-marriage course - all the things I have already mentioned. And they are not even that religious! personally I wouldn't pay €700 for a church unless marrying in a church meant a LOT to me.

Having said all that, after hearing the sh!te from our parish priest (because he wouldn't perform a blessing - it was sacriment of marriage or nowt) regardless of price, I wouldn't have cared if the civil ceremony was twice as expensive - it was the best decision we made. The ceremony was very personal and touching, our registrar was ABSOLUTELY lovely and very accommodating of our music/readings etc. The venue was amazing. We even had some hard and fast chruch goers say how beautiful the ceremony was, they'd never been to such a nice ceremony etc etc.
You couldn't have paid me to have a church wedding, so at the end of the day it comes down to what you want and what you is important enough to fork out for regardless of cost.

tatli_lokma

superleedsdub wrote: »

I`m getting married next year, booked the hotel last month. But the hotel wants to charge a minimum of €13 per head to host the civil ceremony in their hotel. We have chosen not to have the civil ceremony in the hotel but will either get married in a church or a registry office instead.....

what is included for the €13 per head? decor, chair covers, flowers etc? depending on what is on offer this may still be less than a church.
eitherway, I would def be haggling with the hotel on this one - this is a bonus for them, and point out by having everyone on site from before the ceremony, there is more opportunity for money across their bar than if the ceremony is elsewhere.

snuggles09

the hotel are charging to have a civil ceremony there? christ i must get back onto mine pronto..nothing was ever mentioned about a charge and we have 2 rooms, one for the ceremony, then another for the meal, then back down to other room for the evening reception

lyndak082

ive also noticed in the small print of a lot of hotels brochures that they wont do weddings for less than 120 people!!!!

im new to all this and havent booked anything yet so im stunned! my wedding is gonna be small 60 people!

surely in these times they'll take what business they can get???

as for the registrar thing.... it sure is cheaper and easier than the whole catholic church rob ya blind wedding

superleedsdub

Cincikchick wrote: »

what is included for the €13 per head? decor, chair covers, flowers etc? depending on what is on offer this may still be less than a church.
eitherway, I would def be haggling with the hotel on this one - this is a bonus for them, and point out by having everyone on site from before the ceremony, there is more opportunity for money across their bar than if the ceremony is elsewhere.

Hi Cincikchick,

For that price you get:
1. Use of the suite for the day of the wedding
2. Red carpet as you walk down the aisle

Thats the minimum package! They have more expensive packages which include petals, chair covers etc..
Was very shocked to see this price as it`s a complete rip off.

We won`t attempt to haggle on this as my OH would prefer a church wedding anyway and I have already haggled with the hotel as to the reception price and was quite successful (using the reasons you mentioned such as the money they`ll make on the bar and hotel rooms) I will leave further haggling with the hotel for other things.....

We are having at 120 - 130 guests so at €13 a head that would be at least €1560 to hold the civil ceremony in the hotel.
I`ll go back to the hotel to haggle on this if we don`t find a church we don`t like as the main reason for a church is that my OH wants an aisle to walk down (she`s not very religious and i`m a atheist - there`s been a couple of lengthy discussions about this but thats another topic :-) )

Thanks for the advise:-)

snuggles09

why would a hotel be charging anything? you're bringing 130 people there and they are feeding them and watering them all day and night and then they want to charge you for the red carpet etc?? surely that can't be right? fair enough if they have to hire extra staff to do a few bits in the way of setting up a room but even at that if they charged a couple of hundred extra for that then ok, but 13 euro per head?? did they pluck that out of thin air?? I've been onto my venue and i'm not being charged anything to hold me ceremony there and i'm getting red carpet, punch reception etc and i'm only having 50 adults and 9 kids in attendance

sounds like you're being robbed..is this the norm? am i just lucky with my hotel?

lyndak082

yep i agree

ive checked with my 3 possible venues and all are giving me complimentary room for the ceremony!

superleedsdub

lyndak082 wrote: »

yep i agree

ive checked with my 3 possible venues and all are giving me complimentary room for the ceremony!

I`ve just emailed the wedding co-ordinator in the hotel to clarify this - maybe their price is for wedding parties just looking to host the ceremony and not the reception too.... as it just doesn`t fit in with the rest of their pricing structure.....this was the only hotel we looked at that were charging for the ceremony, i`ve probably just got my wires crossed...

superleedsdub

superleedsdub wrote: »

I`ve just emailed the wedding co-ordinator in the hotel to clarify this - maybe their price is for wedding parties just looking to host the ceremony and not the reception too.... as it just doesn`t fit in with the rest of their pricing structure.....this was the only hotel we looked at that were charging for the ceremony, i`ve probably just got my wires crossed...

Just got confirmation that they charge for the civil ceremony on top of the reception. It doesn`t really bother us that much to have the ceremony in a seperate location as I like the registry office and my OH likes the church wedding idea (just need to decide between us what we`ll go for).

This hotel seems to be the exception to the rule, but as stated before we got IMO a good price for the reception and wedding package.... (€6,000 - €8,000 cheaper than other venues we only half liked)

tatli_lokma

superleedsdub wrote: »

For that price you get:
1. Use of the suite for the day of the wedding
2. Red carpet as you walk down the aisle

Thats the minimum package! They have more expensive packages which include petals, chair covers etc..
Was very shocked to see this price as it`s a complete rip off.

robbers!

superleedsdub wrote: »

the main reason for a church is that my OH wants an aisle to walk down (she`s not very religious and i`m a atheist - there`s been a couple of lengthy discussions about this but thats another topic :-) )

Thanks for the advise:-)

there are LOTS of places where you can walk down an aisle and have the whole grand entrance other than a church. We had ours in a castle and it was very impressive and I still had the traditional grand entrance etc.
Look into some venues such as castles, stately homes etc - now that civil ceremonies can be done outside the registry office there are a lot of options. Once the venue is inside and wheelchair accessible then that is half the battle as they are the two main criteria (there are others, but these are the main two).

snuggles09

http://www.towerhotelwaterford.com/wedding-photo-gallery#

this is the aisle i'll be walking down, it's in the hotel and they include all the petals etc on the tables and all that (will be paying extra for seat covers)

i just cant help feeling that ye are really being robbed blind with what they are asking for:(

superleedsdub

snuggles09 wrote: »

http://www.towerhotelwaterford.com/wedding-photo-gallery#

this is the aisle i'll be walking down, it's in the hotel and they include all the petals etc on the tables and all that (will be paying extra for seat covers)

i just cant help feeling that ye are really being robbed blind with what they are asking for:(

That looks very cool snuggles - I like it, must show those pics to the OH:)

As for being robbed.....

We could have chosen other similar class hotels that do include the civil ceremony but:
a) didn`t choose any of them for numerous reasons...
b) they cost ALOT more

Even if we paid for the civil ceremony in the hotel we would still be well under budget....but I agree with the posters here that state it would be robbery IF we went for this option. Looks like this is an area that the hotel thinks they can make money on now that prices are dramatically dropping.....
I`ve already haggled the hotel down from their original reception price and I will haggle further for some extra`s to be thrown in.
We could have gone for either a more expensive or cheaper hotel/venue but this is the only venue that we both loved.

Luckily, as Cincikchick has advised, there are plenty of other options out there (croke park is now doing civil ceremonies ) that I will look into and show the OH.
Thanks for the advice:)

Oscar K

I wonder if anyone can help me. I'm looking for somewhere to have a civil ceremony between Limerick and North Tipp. I really dont want to have it in a registry office. I want to have something with a bit of grandeur to it, that feels special ie I want the big walk down the aisle. We think we have pretty much decided on our venue for the reception but unfortnately they cant hold civil ceremonies there. Anyone any ideas as to any place in that area that would be nice? All ideas greatly appreciated

dark crystal

This place is situated minutes from Tipperary town and Limerick and is licensed to hold civil wedding ceremonies - looks lovely!

http://www.ballykisteenhotel.com/

Best of luck with your wedding

magneticimpulse

Cincikchick wrote: »

and no pre-marriage course, so another €150 saved! and you don't loose those hours of your life!

+1

Oscar K

Thanks a million dark crystal. that is a lovely hotel actually but I think it would be a bit out of the way. i think something between limerick and portumna, on the tipp side of lough derg would be more suited. ahve scoured the place already trying to find somewhere thats a little bit different. have had a little bit of luck with one place but it came back quoting €1210 to rent the place just for the ceremony (which I believe is only about half an hour), €40 per flower arrangement (no thanks) and €4 to hire each chair cover (hate the damn things anyway). thats before we even pay the registrar. It might just be easier to get married in a church but really dont want to.

dark crystal wrote: »

This place is situated minutes from Tipperary town and Limerick and is licensed to hold civil wedding ceremonies - looks lovely!

http://www.ballykisteenhotel.com/

Best of luck with your wedding

Pallas Athena

We paid just over €225.00 - €150.00 being the standard rate - the remainder being the Registrar's travel expenses on the day.

jkforde

can i jump on this thread to ask if it's normal to tip the registrar? and if so, how much is decent? thanks a million

Pallas Athena

he/she's getting no tip for me. €225 for a 20 minutes ceremony is more then enough. They can go jump.

tatli_lokma

Pallas Athena wrote: »

he/she's getting no tip for me. €225 for a 20 minutes ceremony is more then enough. They can go jump.

but the registrar doesn't get €225 - you'd have to pay €150 of that regardless of where you had your wedding, it is the legal registration fee.

And the ceremony can be up to 40 minutes - thats what ours was anyway.

Having said that, we didn't 'tip' the registrar, as they are a paid civil servant, so its not like a priest/alterboys etc who don't get paid. BUT we did give her a small gift, which was the same as the wedding favours we gave guests, and after the event I sent her a little card thanking her for her services as she did an absolutely lovely job, made it very personal and even more, she was the main one keeping hubby from having a seizure with nerves prior to the ceremony.

It is entirely up to you... but now that I think about it, they may not even be allowed to accept a 'tip' what with being civil servants and already being paid for their service? not sure, but might be the case that they are bound by the same rules as other civil servants who can't take 'monetary gratuities' like the police etc

jkforde

thanks for the replies. it all went well anyhow. i didn't tip the registrar as I was too distracted to even think of it! a simple follow up email to say thanks for good service will suffice!