Next Steps
Thank you for making an enquiry. The next steps are as follows:
Pay Deposit
If I have confirmed that I have your date available, the next thing you should do is pay a £50 deposit to secure the date on my side. You can use PayPal with “steve199@gmail.com” or direct bank transfer to account number: 43134061 and sort code: 608371.
Alternatively, the button below should take to my PayPal payment portal.
(Please let me know by email once you’ve left a deposit so I can book you in the diary straight away)
I’ve paid my deposit and secured my date, what next?
If your ceremony is more than 12 months away, then there really isn’t anything to do at this stage. Don’t worry if you don’t hear anything from me during this time, as your booking will be safe in the meantime. (Of course you can still check in with me from time to time if you like)
Giving Notice
Once we are within 12 months of the ceremony date, we can give notice to the district registrar, which is a legal requirement for all couples wishing to marry in Northern Ireland.
Normally, notices should be with the registrar about eight weeks before the marriage. But, if either of you have been married or in a civil partnership before, the notices should be with the registrar ten weeks before.
The minimum period is 28 days before the date of the proposed marriage, but if you leave things as late as this you could be faced with the need to postpone your marriage.
There is normally a fee of £22 for each set of Notice Forms, which is payable to the registrar.
To complete this step, I can post you the signed forms you will need in order to give notice. You will then need to complete the relevant sections and forward the completed forms to the registrar of the district where the ceremony will be taking place - along with any supporting documents such as long birth certificates, ID docs etc. Please note that your venue does not need to be licensed if I am officiating.
(It’s best to check first, but registrars will normally accept photocopied/scanned forms and ID documents for giving notice. However, they would then need to see the originals when you go to collect your Schedule of Marriage, as explained below)
Having received your notice forms, the registrar will perform the necessary checks and then produce a Schedule of Marriage document around 10 days before your wedding date. This document must be collected in person by one of the intended parties to be married.
The Schedule of Marriage must be brought to the ceremony by one of the parties to be married, and it is then signed during your wedding ceremony by yourselves, two witnesses (who can be anyone over the age of 16) and by myself.
I’ve sent in my notice forms. What next?
The next step is to arrange an informal chat about your ceremony. Most couples find a video call convenient, but meeting in person is also possible. This would usually happen a few months before the ceremony, but allowances can also be made for short-notice weddings where appropriate.
In any case, the purpose of our conversation is to discuss the ceremony options and any specific ideas you may have. For example you may wish to think about:
Whether you will have background music for arriving guests as they wait for the start of the ceremony?
Whether you will have music for the processional, during the signing of the marriage documents and/or for the recessional?
Would you like any readings or addresses, and who you would like to present these?
Will you be exchanging wedding rings?
Have you thought about your marriage and ring vows and whether you would like to use traditional or contemporary ones, or even write your own?
Have you thought about who your legal witnesses will be?
Are there any religious elements you would like included such as prayers, blessings or hymns?
Is there anything you definitely don’t want?
Please click the button below for a sample ceremony outline:
After our chat, I should have everything I need to put together a personalised ceremony for you and then it’s just a case of waiting for the big day itself. In the meantime feel free to get in touch if any changes need to be made.
When do I pay the balance?
The balance is payable at any stage after our first meeting, up to seven days before the ceremony itself. As with the deposit, you can use PayPal with “steve199@gmail.com” or direct bank transfer to account number: 43134061 and sort code: 608371.
The usual amount payable will be £270, which is £320 minus the £50 deposit. (In a few cases there may also be travel expenses, but these will have been agreed upon at the outset.)
Throughout the process, you are of course welcome to ask any questions or if you need any advice along the way. We can stay in touch by email on steve199@gmail.com, or you can contact me by phone on 07854 286216.
I look forward to playing my part in the celebration of your wedding day.
Kind regards,
Steve Ames