Fees and cancellation terms for ceremonies

Our terms and conditions for marriage, civil partnership and statutory ceremonies.

Bookings

Your ceremony booking is accepted on the following conditions:

• that no legal impediment to the marriage or civil partnership exists and all legal preliminaries are completed within the statutory time limits
• at the time of booking you have the necessary paperwork to complete any legal requirements such as proof of identity, residency and freedom to marry
• that any foreign divorce or dissolution papers are accepted by the registrar general where applicable
• where applicable, Home Office permission is granted. If either of you is subject to immigration control, and the statutory waiting time extension is applied, then you will be liable for any loss of any booking fee or administration fee payable as a result
• you shall adhere to all the conditions laid out under clause 6 (ceremony) and
• at the time of booking you shall pay to the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames a fee of £50.00 for a ceremony at a licensed venue (booking fee)

Amendment fee

A fee of £25.00 is  payable on each occasion you request a change to a booking which we have acknowledged and which includes (by way of example) change of time, date and ceremony venue (amendment fee). All details that are required to be changed at the same time will only be subject to 1 amendment fee.

If the legal paperwork has to be completed again following any such change the statutory fee which applies for new paperwork is payable. 

Ceremony fees

All fees, including without limitation the booking fee and amendment fee, are payable 6 weeks prior to the ceremony and once paid are non-refundable in all circumstances.

Fees are subject to change on the 1 April each year. The fee that is applicable on the ceremony date will apply to your booking. 

If fees are not paid within 4 weeks before the scheduled date of the ceremony the registration service will automatically cancel your ceremony. Written or email notification of cancellation will be sent to the addresses supplied by you at the time of booking. 

Cancellations 

In the event that you need to cancel your ceremony, you must notify us in writing as soon as possible. The registration service will cancel your ceremony if:

• the fees have not been paid at least 4 weeks prior to the ceremony
• the legal preliminaries (namely - notice of marriage or civil partnership) have not or cannot be completed
• due to unforeseen events such as a major emergency or a Force Majeure Event where the ceremony cannot take place. In the event of a major emergency or a Force Majeure, the registration service will refund the booking fee only but cannot be held responsible for any resulting losses or other liabilities such as the cost of other related bookings or travel costs (also see clause 8 (General)

Ceremony

The ceremony must take place in the room to which a licence has been granted. The registration service will provide the ceremony and will not use scripts provided by anyone else. However you may wish to include some additional vows or promises and every effort will be made to include those choices within the ceremony, provided the content remains seemly and dignified. 

All ceremonies must be of a dignified nature, to reflect the important and solemnity of the occasion.

The registration service will make the final decision of any wording used or other aspect of the ceremony, and the registration service will not accept liability for any need to alter or remove readings, music or other aspects of the ceremony. 

Religious blessings may not be included in the ceremony and any further services or blessings must be separated from the ceremony and performed after the registrars have left. 

The registrars shall not be responsible for obtaining any copyright licences required for music, reading or other matters permitted at the ceremony. Non copyright material such as home recordings of music may not be used.

For fire safety and comfort, the number of guests must not exceed the capacity of the room, which is stipulated in the licence for the venue. Any additional guests will be excluded by the venue from the ceremony and the ceremony may be delayed until any such situation is resolved.

You and your guests must arrive promptly at the venue to enable your ceremony to commence on time. Failure to do so may mean it may not be possible to complete the ceremony as planned and reductions to the content of the ceremony may be necessary, for example by omission of readings.

Liability

The registration service will not accept liability for:

• the failure of any music CD provided by you or a third party for or for the consequence of a refusal to accept copyright infringing material
• any delay or loss caused by your late or non-arrival
• any loss caused by a request from you or your representatives to delay the ceremony
• any loss or compensation where a ceremony is stopped from proceeding because (i) it would be void if it went ahead, or (ii) an offence under the Marriage or Civil Partnership Acts would be committed, or (iii) it would be against the public interest
• any reasonable decision to delay the ceremony is at the discretion of the registration service
• no liability is accepted for any indirect or consequent losses

General

In the event of a Force Majeure event, the registration service will endeavour to perform your ceremony on your chosen day. 

We strongly recommend that you take our ceremony insurance to cover losses or expenses incurred in the case of events outside our control. A Force Majeure Event for the purposes of these terms and conditions means war, civil war, armed conflict, terrorist attack, governmental action, fire, flood, severe weather conditions, pandemic or epidemic or any other act or matter which notwithstanding the reasonable diligence and foresight of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and its partner providers, is beyond their reasonable control.

Approval by the registration service of a venue, other than the registration service venue at The Old Court House, Guildhall, Kingston upon Thames, is granted only in connection with the provisions of ceremonies. The registration service cannot accept liability for any failure or neglect, on behalf of such a venue, in relation to issues arising out of any agreement or contract between you and the venue.