Checklist for Civil Partnership Ceremony - Register Office

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Your Booking

Please note, for health and safety reasons, the total number of guests that the room is licensed for must not be exceeded. Children over the age of two will be counted as individual guests.

Your details

Would you like to include a ceremony?

You form a civil partnership by signing the legal documents with your witnesses.

Witnesses

On the day of your ceremony, you must provide 2 witnesses who are over 18 and able to speak and understand English. Witnesses may be family or friends and they will sign the legal documents. The Registration Service cannot provide witnesses for you. If your witnesses change, please let the Registrar know on the day.

Before the ceremony / appointment

If you wish to be seen separately, we will do our best to ensure that you do not see each other.

Ceremony choices

If you have chosen to include a ceremony, there are three Surrey ceremonies to choose from. These can be found in your booking confirmation email. If you would like us to send you a copy of the ceremony scripts, please email registration.ceremonies@surreycc.gov.uk

You may repeat the legal civil partnership declaration in the presence of your guests, if you wish.

Any personal promises should be solemn and dignified, short in length and should not contain any religious content. Personal promises are approved 6 weeks prior to the ceremony by the Ceremonies Team. If your promises have not been approved before the day, it may not be possible to include them in your ceremony. Please email personal promises to registration.ceremonies@surreycc.gov.uk

Please note: Animals, birds, fish, insects and reptiles, including your own pets, are not allowed to be present or to take part in the ceremony.

Readings - must not have any religious content

Any reading must be solemn and dignified, short in length and not contain any religious content. Readings are approved by the Ceremonies Team 6 weeks prior to the ceremony. If the readings have not been approved before the day, it may not be possible to include them in your ceremony. If your reading is not from the Surrey Ceremonies approved list of readings, please email to registration.ceremonies@surreycc.gov.uk

Music - must not have any religious content

All music is approved by the Ceremonies Team 6 weeks prior to the ceremony. If any music has not been approved before the day, it may not be possible to include it in your ceremony. The Surrey Registration Service reserves the right to refuse live music performances if the setting up or removing of the equipment, will delay your ceremony or any other ceremony being held on the premises.

If you are providing your own music, please bring this with you on the day of your ceremony. All your music should be recorded on one device in the order that you wish it to be played (no compilation albums please). Please ask one of your guests to operate your Bluetooth device. If you would like to check that your music works on the Register Office system, please take it into the office for testing between 09:00 and 16:30 hours Monday to Friday only. We cannot be held responsible for your music not working on our system. Personal sound equipment cannot be connected to our power supply.

Further information for your ceremony

The Registrar will make an announcement before the ceremony starts to advise your guests that photographs cannot be taken during the ceremony.

And finally......

Additional Information

Terms and Conditions

Please read our Terms and Conditions . We recommend that you pay particular attention to the contents and timings section, as if you arrive late, it may not be possible to include all your ceremony content.

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