Booking the ceremony
The first thing to do is to decide where you are going to have your ceremony. You might choose the beautiful Golden Jubilee room in our listed building in the heart of Old Southampton – or you might want to hold your ceremony in one our many venues that are approved to hold ceremonies. Once you have chosen your venue and checked its availability, you will then need to make a provisional booking.
The provisional booking fee for a ceremony with us is £40.00. This is a non-refundable fee and secures the time and date of your ceremony. This can be paid by credit/debit card, cash or cheque with a valid guarantee card.
You can make your provisional booking by either telephoning us on the contact number below or by visiting our office in Bugle Street.
If your ceremony is not to be in one of our rooms at Bugle Street, you will also need to provisionally confirm your booking with the venue you have chosen.
I could not fault any of your service from the day we booked the ceremony to walking out the door a married couple. All of the staff have been friendly yet professional, and always willing to go above and beyond their call of duty to accommodate us. The Registrar that led the ceremony was brilliant and made us feel much more relaxed. Thank you all for making our special day so perfect.
Giving notice of your ceremony
Once you have made your provisional booking, you will need to make an appointment to show your relevant documents to the register office that covers the area where you have lived for the past 8 full days. This is the legal process called ‘Giving Notice’.
Documentation required
Please make sure that you bring the originals of the following documents - if you don’t have the correct documents we may not be able to issue the notice, which could lead to your ceremony being cancelled.
If you are not a British Citizen and were born outside of the EAA you will need to contact us so we can discuss what documentation is needed. Alternatively you can use the links at the bottom of this page .
British Citizens and those born in the EAA should show their current, valid, full passport or if you were born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983 your own full birth certificate showing your parent(s) name AND one of your parents or your mother's (if not married at the time of your birth) passport or birth certificate.
We also need you to bring identification showing your current names and addresses e.g. a recent utility bill, bank statement, council tax bill or driving license.
More advice of the type of documents required are listed below or follow the links to relevant organisations.
Please also note: Registration offices have a statutory duty to report any marriage or civil partnership they suspect has been arranged for the sole purpose of evading statutory immigration controls
If you need to discuss any of these matters further, please contact us on the details at the bottom of this page.
For more information about 'giving notice' please go to Frequently Asked Questions.
Southampton City Council
