Weddings / civil partnerships

Weddings and civil partnerships can be held at

• approved hotels and properties in Gwynedd
• one of the ceremonial rooms at Gwynedd's register offices
• approved hotels / premises or Register Offices outside Gwynedd
• Chapel / Church

If you have decided on a civil ceremony, once you know where you want to hold the marriage / civil partnership, you must first arrange with the venue to ensure that your preferred date/time is available.

If you have decided to get married / form a civil partnership in a Register Office please contact us to see if the room is available on 01766 771000.

If you are getting married in a Chapel or any Church that is not a Church in Wales, you will need to check that the Chapel / Church is available for your day, and you may need a Registrar. Contact the chapel / church to check if a Registrar is required.

If you are getting married in a Church in Wales, you will not usually need to contact the Registration Service at all but there are some exceptions. Please check with the Church in Wales if you need to contact us.

If you are getting married in a location other than the Church in Wales, the next step will be to arrange an appointment for your formal notice to be given at the Register Office.

You will need to give formal notice to ensure that you are legally free to marry / form a civil partnership.

Your notices will usually be given at your local register office in the area where you live, but there are some exceptions:

• If you live outside England / Wales, please contact us for advice on where and when to give notice.
• If you are a foreign national, please contact us for advice on where and when to give notice.

You must give notice at least 28 days* before the date of your ceremony and you must know where you are getting married.

* Please note! This can increase to 70 days depending on your immigration status.

For this reason, we advise you give your notices at least 3 months before your ceremony.

The formal notice will be displayed on a public notice board in the area where you have given your notice (if you give notice in Gwynedd, it will be displayed at Siop Gwynedd in Caernarfon). At the end of the notice period, the Registration Service will then prepare your schedule, the document that gives you legal authority to marry / enter into a civil partnership.

When attending your notice appointment, you will need to provide documentation to prove your:

• Name
• Age
• Nationality
• Address
• Marital / civil partnership status
• Immigration status (if applicable)

Name, Age and Nationality:

• Either a valid passport or birth certificate (we may need other documents to accompany the birth certificate, you should contact the registration service for advice)

Address:

• Valid driving license
• A rent or council tax document
• Recent public service bill (dated within the last 3 months)
• Bank statement (dated within the last month)
• If you do not have any of the above, please contact us for further advice

Marital / civil partnership status (if applicable):

• In the event of divorce / separation - a decree absolute or dissolution of partnership certificate
• In the case of a bereavement - the former partner's death certificate

Immigration status (if applicable):

• If you are a foreign national, please contact us for advice on where and when to give notice and which documents to bring.

We advise that you contact the Register Office to ensure that you have the appropriate documentation before your appointment. If you attend the appointment with the wrong documents, the Registrar will not be able to continue with the appointment which may result in you not being able to marry / enter into a civil partnership on your chosen date.

You may contact us to arrange a Registrar to attend your marriage / Civil partnership up to 2 years before the date of the ceremony. However, the formal notice must be given within 12 months of the date of the ceremony. We advise you to get in touch as early as possible as we are limited on the number of ceremonies that we can attend.

After you give your formal notice you will need to wait for at least 28 / 70 full days before the ceremony can be held.

To arrange a date to give your formal notice in Gwynedd, call 01766 771000.

If you are getting married / forming a civil partnership abroad, you must check what the country's rules are regarding marriages / civil partnerships.

Some countries require you to attend your local Register Office to obtain a Certificate of No Impediment, please contact us to make an appointment on 01766 771000.

In special circumstances, for example if a person in critically ill, urgent requests to get married or commit to a civil partnership can be given. It is possible that the fees will vary in these circumstances. For further information please call 01766 771000.

A fee is payable to Cyngor Gwynedd if you arrange for a Registrar/Registrars to attend your ceremony. You will need to pay a non-refundable fee to keep the date and time for your ceremony. We would also charge a fee to anyone who wants to arrange their marriage / civil partnership more than 12 months in advance . You will need to pay any balance at least 3 months before the ceremony.

View list of current fees

In addition to the above, there is a statutory fee for giving formal notices. You can pay for the notices before or during the appointment. A fee of £42 / £57 each (depending on your immigration status) is payable to the Council.

There is a fee of £ 12.50 for each marriage / civil partnership certificate.

The law to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies came into effect on Saturday 29 March 2014

The main provisions of the Act are:

• allow same sex couples to marry in a civil ceremony;
• allow same sex couples to marry in a religious ceremony where the religious organisation has "opted in" to conduct such ceremonies and the minister of religion agrees;
• enable civil partners to convert their partnership into a marriage, if they wish.

For further information please call 01766 771000

The Civil Partnerships (Opposite Sex Couples) Act 2019 came into effect on 2 December 2019 that allows couples of different sex to have a civil partnership.