Marriage: Step by Step
Follow our step-by-step guide to getting married in Cambridgeshire.
5. Plan your day
You can tailor several parts of the ceremony by adding your own words, music and readings.
Please read the outlines below before completing your ceremony checklist:
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Click here for an outline of the day if you have booked a Ceremony Room
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Click here for an outline of the day if you have booked an Approved Premises
Once you've read the documents above please return your ceremony checklist online for council ceremony rooms and approved venues a month before your ceremony.
The checklist helps us to know what your ceremony will include, who is doing readings, who is holding the rings, so we are able to provide a professional ceremony for you and your guests to enjoy.
Please only use confetti outside buildings and preferably use biodegradable confetti. Please check the parking arrangements for your venue or our offices.
Music - If you are holding your ceremony in a Council Ceremony room music should be provided either on a CD or on a digital device. Cambridge and Huntingdon offices have a sound bar that can be accessed by a guest operating a digital device and Ely office has Bluetooth capability.
If you are marrying in a Council Ceremony room please arrive about 15 minutes before your ceremony is due to begin. If you are marrying in an Approved Premises we would recommend that you arrive at least 30 minutes before the ceremony is due to begin.
The registration staff will see you both, together or separately, before the ceremony begins to confirm and update where necessary the details given at notice. This is to ensure that the register entry is correct on the day.
You need to provide two witnesses who can be relatives or friends, ideally over 18, and must be able to speak and understand English. They must be present throughout the ceremony and, if outside, must be within the approved structure throughout the ceremony.
Your photographer (or nominated person) can take non-flash photographs throughout the ceremony and your guests will be invited to photograph at some point during the ceremony. If having a video, the videographer needs to be in a static position and able to stop filming when the register is being signed, as will your photographer.