Ceremonies
If you're looking to get married or form a civil partnership, you'll find everything you need here to help plan your perfect day.
Who can get married or form a civil partnership
You can get married or form a civil partnership in England or Wales if you're:
- 18 years old or over
- not already married or in a civil partnership
- not closely related
If you’re not sure whether to get married or form a civil partnership, the GOV.UK website has a comparison of marriages and civil partnerships to help you choose.
What you need to do
To get married or form a civil partnership you need to:
- decide on the type of ceremony you want to have. If you're getting married you can choose either a religious or civil ceremony
- choose and book your venue. See our civil ceremony venues in Barnsley
- book a registrar for your ceremony
- give notice of a marriage or civil partnership
Wedding ceremonies
Marriage is a social and legal contract that gives you someone to rely on. It also brings a degree of emotional security.
You can choose to have either a religious or civil wedding ceremony. Religious weddings can take place at any registered religious building. Civil weddings can take place at a register office or other approved venue.
Whether you choose a religious or civil wedding, you must exchange vows with your partner when you get married. Civil ceremonies can include readings, songs or music. They can't contain any religious content.
Civil partnerships
Forming a civil partnership gives your relationship legal recognition. They can be formed by both same sex and opposite sex couples.
You can form a civil partnership at a register office or other approved venue. Venues that are approved to hold weddings are also approved to register civil partnerships. They can also be registered at religious premises. In this case, you can't have a religious ceremony.
You don't have to have a ceremony to form a civil partnership, although most couples do choose to have one. You also don't need to exchange vows for a civil partnership, but you can do this if you’d like to.
Convert a civil partnership to a marriage
If you're in a same sex civil partnership you can convert this to a marriage. This will replace one legal relationship with another.
You can have a conversion without a ceremony if you'd like. Or you can celebrate your marriage with a ceremony at:
- Barnsley Town Hall
- an approved venue
- a religious building or other place registered for same-sex marriages
