We are looking to get married for the technical benefits rather than the significance of the event, I’d like something that’s more like a nice day out rather than signing paperwork at the town hall although that will almost certainly be the ‘main eventI’.
I assume other people will have got married for similar reasons, We’ve been together 10 years, telling the government or God doesn’t make either of us more committed. Really we just want next of kin for us both, access rights at hospital, probate and a family name (no points for guessing why).
What did you do?
35 comments
Just family and a few friends at the registry office. Party at home.
Not me, but I recently went to a small wedding of about 12 people. It was a simple registry office service, then lunch in a semi-private room at a very nice restaurant. It was a lovely day.
Parents and siblings. Registry office. Splurged on a really nice meal after.
Some friends of mine got married recently in Oxford, I think they only had about 9 guests (all family plus partners & kids).
They invited everyone over to their Air Bnb for a quick bite to eat and drinks while people got ready in the morning. Then they walked through Oxford to the town hall for the ceremony. Afterwards another brief walk around Christchurch college for some photos and then to a restaurant on the high street for a couple of hours (meal, speeches, cake etc.), before heading to the pub. All in all a lovely day.
We had us and 3 guests (2 best friends and our Daughter) in the registry office. Was around £50 I believe. Then we met family and friends outside the registry office and went for a fancy lunch. We just went on a pub crawl after. Very cheap! My dress was £100 from ASOS and it was so perfect. We weren’t trying to save money, just didn’t really want to get married but seemed logical as we have a kid.
I know a few who did it, most took advantage of the lockdown “6 people only” rules to get past all those who might protest it.
I will be marrying my partner next year and neither of want a big deal made of it. So it will be a registry office with the minimal amount of people required, then go for a nice dinner after.
I will be changing my name before it happens anyway. He has a brilliant surname and I have no attachments to mine, plus I have always hated my first name, so they are both going.
I actually only want my closest friend there and his husband, as I always said to him that when I do it, he is the only one I want there. Probably wont even be telling family or colleagues as work that I am doing it. Also I’m thinking about getting ring tattoos rather than actual rings. Doubt will be dressing up in uncomfortable suits either. If we could just do it one day then we would, but you have to give a minimum of 30 days notice here in the UK.
BIL got married just before covid, went away to Bath for a few days, took both sets of parents and that was it.
The rest of us found out by text afterwards. They did it just for the legal reasons but knew that the parents might complain if they weren’t included.
Registry office, find a nice pub that either can provide or allow you to bring some buffet type food.
Get pissed. Have a weekend away.
As a guest at one of these small weddings and many HUUGE Irish weddings… It’s the same experience at the end of the day (for guests) I’d even go as far as saying that I preferred the smaller wedding. No fuss, relaxed and no expectations. I even did the bride’s hair and makeup.
Got married in our back garden by a humanist with just our parents and my sister. Absolutely loved it. We are Scotland though so I know at the moment the same can’t be done in England/Wales.
What are the technical benefits?
We had both sets of parents and us. Wanted to bring the dog too but the registrar wouldn’t allow it.
My husband bought a new suit and i got my dress from a monsoon outlet.
After the ceremony, we went to my mums for a bucks fizz and take photos with the dog. We booked a posh hotel for dinner bed and breakfast. It was lovely but we went to the pub down the road from the hotel for drinks.
That was it. Not too much fuss and perfect for us
Went to registry office ,got married then came home
local registry office, got a Monday morning special at the cheapest price possible, our two best friends as witnesses, pizza and beer afterwards. Total cost something like £165, recouped on reduction in insurance premiums.
The wife and I had a five minute service including signing the paperwork. We spoke with the registrar beforehand and cut everything out of the vows that didn’t need to be legally there. Then we went to a nice pub with our two witnesses for a meal and some drinks.
Previously had a registry wedding with 20 people there and then all went to the pub for a booze up.
quickie civil partnership ceremony with just us and the two witnesses (in masks!)
walk up the canal for photo opportunities
taxi to our local wine and cheese bar for fancy fizz, cheese platter, and then a pizza from the next door restaurant.
Early bed for all.
My brother had 1 person each for bride and groom with them and after went out for a meal.
My mate had close family for the event, that evening went out for a meal with them all and had the party a few days later for more people.
Gretna green, get married on the anvil
We got married at home (council registars in Scotland can marry you anywhere). Evening ceremony, closest family and friends only (13 of us in total). We spent the day setting out loads of flowers and candles and buffet food. In the evening, our guests arrived – registrar arrived – quick ceremony with vows and a reading – signed the paperwork – drinks and buffet food with a playlist of our favourite songs. Probably too simple for most people’s tastes, but it suited us fine!
We did the “official” stuff the cheapest and quickest way possible i.e. at registrar’s office, just my parents as witnesses so we could get on with my wife’s spouse visa application. 4 of us, signed the certificate and then went to a nearby Chinese restaurant for dim sum.
The actual celebration / ceremony which was purely just for fun we did about a month later and hired out a big farmhouse for a week. We had lots of guest coming from abroad so wanted to help them out with costs by providing accommodation and food for some of their trip to the UK. I think we had around 40 people staying at the farmhouse at least 1 night and a total of 60 guests on the “wedding day”
The whole thing was DIY. Everyone helped out with decorations and setting up for the wedding day. My brother did the light entertainment before the ceremony (played a piano with a friend singing) and sort of MC’d the event. We got a whole bunch of sandwich and snack platters from Costco for people to have before the ceremony. After the photos etc. we fired up the 4 BBQs and had some of my mates take care of cooking a bunch of different things like chicken wings, burgers, sausages etc. The bar was a massive cool box filled to the brim with beers, ciders and spirits. It was great fun. Definitely a tiring week because I spent a lot of the other days driving a 9 seater van around picking up food and drink supplies and picking people up and dropping them off at the airport.
Mine wasn’t tiny tiny but 16 guests so fairly small. Had it at a hotel, we had a wee room for the whole day, drinks in the bar area while they turned the room around between ceremony and meal. After eating we spent the rest of the evening chatting round the table, playing board games and eating cake with our Spotify playlist on in the background. Very nice and chilled out.
My mum also had a small wedding, at the registry office and then back to the house for drinks and nibbles, before heading into town for a meal in a private room in a nice restaurant. Also a very nice and chilled out day 🙂
We are doing our wedding next year at the registry office – £100 for the day, excluding the licence you need to apply for before hand.
We are only allowed 2 guests, which makes everything easier – we’ve both just invited our Mother. Might go for lunch afterwards, but that’s literally the plan for the day.
We had two weddings, both tiny.
The “legal” one we had 12 people total, including my wife and I. Just a simple registry office, then we had half of our favourite coffee shop & bar for the afternoon before we went off on a mini-moon. Most of the money we spent on rings and food and everyone seemed to enjoy it, especially my wife and I.
We had a “just the 2 of us” wedding at Cragwood House in the Lake District. It was lovely.
We invited friends to stay with us for a week at a local camp site (most of our friends are quite happy campers :)) before having the ceremony at the local registry office, then a local carvery put were willing to set aside a room for us for the afternoon. All in all it was less than a grand and suited the “nobody wants to be the centre of attention” vibe we were going for, it was meant to be more like friends getting together rather than anything poncy
We flew from Manchester to Chicago. Just the two of us. Got married on the Sky Deck at Willis Tower, picked up a hire car and spent two weeks driving to LA.
Best wedding and honeymoon ever.
Paperwork in the reg office followed by a hog roast at our local community centre with about 30 people. Got some kegs of champagne cider from a local farm shop and a mate dj’d.
About 2 grand all in…..spent the rest on the honey moon and some towards a deposit on a house
We got married in the Dru [http://druidstone.co.uk/](http://druidstone.co.uk/) just our mums, dads, brothers and sisters and their children. We did not want a bid wedding.
Check with your local registry office as they will have a list of venues you can get married at, well ours did 🙂
My partner and I are getting a civil partnership in a few months. We chose a registry office in a nice town, unfortunately it doesn’t offer statutory ceremonies so it costs something like £180 even though we will cree no guests but this was worth it to us over the cheaper offices. A couple close friends will be our witnesses and then we will go out for lunch at my partner’s favourite cafe in the town.
I attended a friends wedding, only 12 people including the bride and groom, simple register office, no car, no photographer. Informal reception, simple buffet, no speeches or big moments. Used a digital camera which anyone can pick and take pictures of the day.
There was music, friend of there’s did music as gift, all northern soul. There about 5/6 hours chatting, drinking, dancing. So laid back and everyone had a great time
We got married in a register office with the minimum number of people, then had a fake wedding at home with about 30 guests and our youngest son (6) driving my bride to the wedding (small tractor and trailer to the far end of the garden) our eldest son (9) was the photographer and out daughter (10) was the priestess.
In all it cost a little under £250.
Me and the wife hate loads of attention, and kind of think the whole stereotypical marriage charade is a bit of nonsense, like you’re pretending you’re in a film or something. We went to the registry office, cost us 400 quid, 12 people went, just my very immediate family, no cousins or anything. Went to the local pub/restaurant and had fish and chips, had a nice wedding cake there too. Went home and had a takeaway with the wife in our wedding gear. I doubt anyone who spent 20 grand would have enjoyed their day more to be fair.
Edit, just to be clear, we did get dressed for the part, we didn’t turn up in a pair of jeans etc, we’re not scrotes, just signing a bit of paper and getting a ring shouldn’t cost a fortune
We did where we were family only at the registry office, got married the day before then just had everyone (about 20-30 but it could be less) in the pub.
We also had a very short “blessing service” before the pub as it was important to my wife there was some kind of church element, but the vicar bloke didn’t marry us, he just blessed the wedding that has happened yesterday and we went to the pub
My wife is non-EU (Romania EU ascension country at the time) and was pregnant with our first child so it made the rights of the child when born very complex without being married
Registry office and then a big slap up meal.
I’m guessing most of them got married.