I got formally hitched via a registry office wedding and I’m convinced it is one of the best decisions I have ever made. Of course, it’s not what everyone wants. I, however, never dreamt of a big, lavish event. If you’re like me and would rather prepare for a registry office wedding than a destination one, for example, come right in!
I could actually say a little about having a destination wedding as we sort of had one but that is a story for another day (stay tuned)!
READ: Things to discuss before you get married
Preparing for a registry office wedding is not quite as much of a dawdle as one might think. Small or big, it will never be as simple as just showing up and saying your vows.
What happens at a registry office wedding?
This is the way it went for us.
When you arrive at the venue, you have to go and ‘check in’. We went in and let them know that ourselves and our guests were all present and ready.
They ushered us into our designated room and there was an officiant present. We were allowed to film it, of course.
We stood facing each other and repeated our chosen vows after the officiant.
After it was over, we each sat and signed our mariage certificate after checking to make sure all the details were correct. Our chosen witnesses provided their signatures too.
And that was it. We were married!
We then had permission to take photos with our guests on the registry office grounds which were beautiful and provided a nice backdrop to our photos.
Do you still walk down the aisle at a registry office?
We did not walk down an aisle at our registry office wedding. It was not provided as an option at our registry office. However, I have heard that some people do get that option at different registry offices so it must differ at each registry office.
It can also be based on whether you choose a room in the registry office that is large enough to accommodate an aisle.
How many guests can you have at a registry office wedding?
This depends on room availability. If you choose to get married on a day when you only have a small room available to you, you may be able to only invite a few guests. 6 – 8 people, for example. Due to health and safety considerations, registry offices cannot have a high number of people on site at any one time. Particularly wedding guests, as they will not all be accounted for in the event of an emergency.
If you have a large number of guests, they are unlikely to all be allowed in your room to witness the marriage but they may be allowed to stay on-site to partake in any post-photo sessions you have.
3 Main Benefits of having a registry office wedding
I would describe the overall benefit of a registry office in one way: “stress-free”. Here are the top three reasons why:
- Cost efficient. Apart from renting the room that will be used for the ceremony and the cost of giving notice to marry, registry office weddings afford you the opportunity to control your wedding costs as much as possible.
View and edit the spreadsheet I used when I was planning for my own registry wedding.
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- Time-saving. Once you have gone through the process of giving notice of marriage, which will require a trip to the registry office, you do not need to spend much more time doing anything else leading up to your special day. Unless you want to.
- More customizable. You can make it what you want it to be. You can have your wedding be as small or big as you would like as you can choose whether you should have a reception after signing. If so, you can make that reception small or big as well.the entire day can be made up of 300 people in total or just the two of you and your witnesses instead.
Registry office wedding dress ideas
What do you wear to a registry wedding? This question makes the beauty of having a registry office wedding even more clear.
The answer: Your registry office wedding dress can be whatever you want.
Some people choose to go more traditional and wear the kind of registry office wedding dress that you would see in a church wedding, for example. Others might prefer to wear something more formal and perhaps the kind of outfit you might see in the workplace.
White is not always necessarily the colour of choice either.
As a guide, there are three main things to consider before choosing your attire for your registry wedding.
- The weather. Make sure you are comfortable in your clothing – no chance of feeling cold or too warm. You should be able to enjoy your ceremony fully.
- Your partner’s outfit choice or preference. If your partner is bent on wearing a three piece suit, it certainly will not do for you to show up in denim.
- Your budget. How much of your wedding budget would you like to dedicate to your outfit?
Visit my Registry Wedding Outfits Pinterest board for some ideas of what to wear on your special day.
Good luck and enjoy your big day!
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