Terms and conditions for marriages and civil partnerships
Civil marriage and civil partnership ceremony bookings
Your ceremony booking is accepted on condition that:
- no legal impediment to the marriage or civil partnership exists and legal preliminaries are completed within statutory time limits
- any foreign divorce/dissolution papers are accepted by the Registrar General where applicable
- the ceremony fee is paid
- the requested date and time of the ceremony is available
Right to cancel
You have the right to cancel any contract made on-line or over the phone within 14 days without giving any reason.
Cancellation rights
Under the Consumer Contracts (Information Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 you have the right to cancel this appointment and receive a full refund of the fee you have paid to us if you do so within fourteen days.
To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us of your decision to cancel this contract either by post or email. If you inform us of a cancellation electronically, we will acknowledge receipt.
To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to have sent your communication concerning your wish to exercise the right to cancel, before the cancellation period has expired.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to cancel this contract
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have paid by cash and then a cheque refund will be given. In any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of the reimbursement.
Ceremony fees
The ceremony fee is payable at the time of booking via the telephone. The ceremony fee will include the statutory fee for one certificate.
Cancellation of booking by couple
Any ceremony payments made will be subject to the following refund schedule.
Please note: the Notice of Marriage or Civil Partnership fee is non-refundable.
More than six months before the ceremony date
You will receive a full refund of the ceremony and certificate fees paid.
Between 6 months and 3 months before the ceremony date
You will receive a 75% refund of the ceremony fees plus all certificate fees paid.
Between three months and 30 days before the ceremony date
You will receive a 50% refund of the ceremony fees plus all certificate fees paid.
Less than 30 days before the ceremony or failure to cancel in writing before the ceremony date
We will only refund certificate fees paid; We will not refund any ceremony fees.
Our team
The Registration Service will allocate registrars to attend your ceremony and reserves the right to substitute other experienced and qualified staff in case of sickness or other unforeseen circumstances on the day.
Room capacity
For fire, safety and comfort the number of persons must not exceed the published licensed capacity of the room. Additional guests will not be able to remain in the ceremony room. Details of the room capacity at any of our venues can be found in our list of wedding and civil partnership venues.
Outside ceremonies
If your ceremony is due to take place in a linked outside area, the venue's Responsible Person or deputy will, 30 minutes in advance of the ceremony or on arrival of the Registration Service team whichever is the sooner, decide if the ceremony can take place outdoors or whether to move the ceremony indoors. If there is any likelihood of rain during the duration of the ceremony, it must be moved inside. Venues will be advised to set up for both options.
Late start of a ceremony
The Registration Service will not accept any liability where a ceremony is postponed on the day due to the late arrival of the couple and or any guests. We reserve the right to take appropriate action to ensure other ceremonies our staff need to attend are delivered at the agreed time. It may not be possible for the ceremony to be re-arranged for later the same day and therefore may have to be re-arranged for another day.
Should Registration Service staff find they have been unavoidably delayed, they undertake to contact the venue to let them know of the situation and an expected arrival time.
Contact details
Telephone: 0300 300 8089
Email: life.events@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk