How to choose your venue

Nowadays brides can choose from a much more varied and unique list of venues from outdoor pavilions and castles, to country house hotels and barns.

If you think picking the dress will be difficult, often searching for the ideal venue is just as hard.

Before you start searching, it is wise to sit down with your partner and have a chat about what kind of day you want.

Church:

If you wish to be married in the church of England or church in Wales, you should first speak to the vicar of the parish where you wish to marry. He will tell you if you are eligible to marry at the church.

If they agree to marry you, he/she will arrange either for the banns to be called on three Sundays before the day of your marriage or for a common licence to be issued. The marriage is registered by the vicar at the church and there is usually no need to contact the register office about the marriage.

These days you don't even have to get married in your nearest church - you can marry in a church where you have strong family ties or attend a church regularly for six months ahead of your big day.

If you wish to marry in any building used for worship and licensed for marriages, other than the church of England or church in Wales, you should contact the minister or other person in charge of marriages at the building. If he/she agrees to marry you, he/she will make arrangements for the marriage ceremony.

Once the marriage has been arranged you will each have to give formal notice of marriage at the register office in the district(s) where you live.

Many places of worship have their own "registrar" or authorised person who will register the marriage on the day and issue your marriage certificate, but sometimes you may need to book a registrar from the local Register Office to attend to do this for you

Register Office:

If you wish to be married at a Register Office, you must first contact the Superintendent Registrar at the office where you wish to marry to check that the date and time are available for your marriage. Most Register Offices will make a provisional booking and then give you sufficient time to give notice of marriage

Rotherham Registry Office is located in Bailey House and you can contact the registrar on 01709 823542 or [email protected].

Civil licensed 'approved' venues:

If your dream is to get married in a lavish country house hotel or intimate, thatch roofed barn, then you will need to get your research hat on and start hunting.

A venue must have a licence to allow you to legally get married there (see list of South Yorkshire venues).

Most council websites list the venues in their areas which are licensed for civil services.

English Heritage also lists the properties that have a licence.

Hotel websites usually have a section about weddings where you can download their brochure or view photo galleries.

If you wish to arrange a ceremony at an approved premise you will need to make arrangements at the venue as well as arranging for the attendance of the local Registration Officers at your ceremony.

It is essential that you agree the date and time for your ceremony with both the local Superintendent Registrar and the venue before you make any other arrangements.

Again, the Superintendent Registrar will make a provisional booking and allow you sufficient time to give notice of marriage/civil partnership.

A good place to start when finding your venue is with three pieces of information:

1 What is your budget? Work out a rough figure and that will help rule in or out certain places. Don't forget that many venues have great offers during the off-peak season so if you are flexible with your dates you may get a great deal.
2 How many guests are you inviting? Many venues have maximum numbers for ceremonies so you will need to know if you can fit everybody in.
3 Date. If you are flexible with your date you have a better chance of getting booked in. Many Saturdays and bank holidays from May to September book up at least a year in advance so be prepared.

How to book a civil service.

Don't fancy a church? Try our list of alternative venues.

Advertiser Brides' Club homepage.