The prospect of planning and booking a wedding can feel overwhelming, but don’t worry!
We are here to help guide you through.
Here are the steps to getting married:
1. Choose your venue – Islington and City of London have over 50 licenced venues to choose from, from ancient livery halls to modern restaurants. Many couples choose to Say I Do at the beautiful and historic Islington Town Hall, and you can see photographs, information and prices for all our ceremony locations by visiting these pages:
Even if you are just planning to ‘do the legal bit’, you will need to book a room/venue and registrars to make it all legal.
2. Book your venue and registrars – When you’ve decided where you want to get married, you will need to book the date and time with us. If you are getting married at the Town Hall, the room and registrars are booked during the same process. If you are marrying in another approved venue, you will need to book your venue and then book the registrars to attend your venue.
If you are making a booking for a date within the next three months, we advise you to book your notice appointment before you book your ceremony date to make sure you are able to do this in time. Many register offices, including ours, can have a wait of a month or more for notice appointments.
If you are not able to get a notice appointment in time, you will not be able to get married on your chosen date.
Please click here to check availability and book your ceremony date.
Once you’ve made your booking and paid a deposit, we’ll send you a confirmation email.
3. Give notice of marriage – After you have booked your ceremony, you are both legally required to give a notice of marriage at your local Register Office.
This means making an in-person appointment to see a registrar to show them proof of your identity, address and that you are free to marry, and fill out some paperwork. This can be done up to a year in advance, but must be done at least one month before the ceremony. You can find out more on the ‘Giving Notice’ section of our ‘Your Questions’ Page.
Please note: you can give notice before booking your venue and registrars if you prefer, although you must be sure of the venue you want when you give notice, as it is only valid for one place.
4. Pay the final fee – If you didn’t pay the full fee at the time of booking your ceremony, you will be reminded to make the final payment at least three months before your date.
5. Choose your ceremony content – We will send you information about the choices you have for the ceremony you have chosen, and ask you to complete a form with your decisions. We ask you to return this to us at least a month before the ceremony.
6. Arrive on the day and have a wonderful time!
We have lots of further information you may find helpful on our ‘Your Questions’ page, and our staff are able to answer any other questions you may have.