Ceremony booking - terms and conditions

The following terms and conditions are applicable to Civil Marriage and Civil Partnerships ceremony bookings. 

Civil Marriage and Civil Partnership ceremony bookings

Your ceremony booking is accepted on the condition that:

• No legal impediment to the marriage or civil partnership exists and Legal Preliminaries (both of you must give Notice of Intention) are completed within current statutory time limits.
• Where applicable, any foreign divorce / dissolution papers are accepted by the Registrar General prior to the Ceremony.
• Home Office permission is granted where applicable. 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 fees or additional fees payable as a result.
• Payment in full of your ceremony fees is made at the time of booking. All other fees, eg. notice or other administrative fees, are payable on demand.

For ceremonies in The Loggia Room, York House

There are likely to be a number of other ceremonies taking place on the day of your ceremony.

Although we do not place restrictions on the time that you and your guests can spend in the garden, parties are asked to be respectful of other ceremonies, and once your initial post ceremony photos have been taken outside of the Loggia Room, the rest of the park and gardens are available for your enjoyment and for further photos.

Following the ceremony there is no re-entry to the ceremony room, therefore you must keep your belongings with you at all times. We cannot accept responsibility for storing belongings or equipment at any time during your visit.

For fire regulations, safety, and comfort, if the number of guests exceeds the capacity of the room, some guests may be excluded from the ceremony.

No food, drink (including alcohol) or animals (with the exception of assistance dogs) are permitted in the ceremony room or waiting areas.

Front of house parking is not permitted for ceremonies taking place in The Loggia Room. Please note, there is an access control barrier at the front of York House, and it is not possible to grant access beyond this point.

Naming and renewal of vows ceremony bookings

For namings and renewal of vows, your ceremony booking is accepted on the condition that proof of birth registration or prior marriage/civil partnership taking place is provided.

You should understand that the ceremony does not give any legal status or rights.

For ceremonies in the Simple Ceremony Room

By choosing this room you have accepted that:

• Only two guests will be in attendance – these two guests will act as your witnesses.
• Children will not be able to attend your ceremony.
• Your ceremony will not include any enhancements such as music, poetry or readings, or personalised vows, although you can exchange rings if you wish.
• You cannot take photographs or videos within the room.

No amendments can be made to bookings for the simple ceremony room – you must cancel your original booking, in writing, and make a fresh booking. All fees are non-refundable.

Staff

The RuTRS will allocate staff to attend your ceremony but is unable to guarantee individual ceremony officers and reserves the right to substitute staff as necessary for operational reasons.

Deliveries

We will not accept deliveries of goods or livestock in preparation for your ceremony.

Confetti

Please advise your guests that biodegradable confetti only, may be used in The Loggia Room, York House, and can only be thrown on the paved area immediately outside the ceremony room: confetti cannot be thrown in the ceremony room or in the public gardens.

If your ceremony is taking place at one of our other Approved venues, please check their rules on the use of confetti on their premises.

Children

We recognise that ceremonies are a family event, and you are welcome to bring younger members of the family to the ceremony. However, we would ask that children are supervised by a responsible adult at all times, who can if necessary take them from the ceremony room should they become distressed or are disruptive.

Interpreters

If either of you cannot speak or understand English, you are required to provide an interpreter at your own expense. This can be a friend or family member. You cannot act as an interpreter for each other.

Ceremony content

RuTRS will provide the ceremony script. You may make alternative selections which must be notified to us at least four weeks in advance of the ceremony, and every effort will be made to include those choices, provided the ceremony remains seemly and dignified and does not include any religious content in the words, readings or music. RuTRS will make the final decision on any additional content, and will not accept liability for any omission which may be caused by reasons beyond its control.

Liability

RuTRS will not accept liability for:

• Any delay or loss caused by your – or any of your guests - late or non-arrival: the registrars attending your ceremony have ceremonies to attend throughout the day, and therefore cannot delay the start of the pre-arranged time for the ceremony. If it is necessary for the registration team to leave the venue and proceed to their next ceremony, then every effort will be made to return to conduct your ceremony, however, this may not be possible and in such circumstances you would be liable to pay any additional fees incurred if it is necessary for the registration team to return to conduct your ceremony on another day, including giving fresh notices if necessary.
• Any loss caused by a request from you or your representatives to delay the ceremony.
• Any decision to delay the ceremony is entirely at the discretion of the RuTRS.
• Any loss or compensation where a ceremony is stopped from proceeding because it would be void if it went ahead or an offence under the Marriage or Civil Partnership Acts or Immigration Acts would be committed, if it would not be in the public interest for the ceremony to proceed or all group gatherings had been banned by Parliament (e.g., in a pandemic situation).
• In the event of an emergency, disaster or extreme weather conditions (including but not limited to war, civil war, armed conflict, terrorist attack, governmental action, fire, flood, snow, pandemic or epidemic) the RuTRS cannot be held responsible and is not liable for any ceremony which has to be cancelled as a result of such events which are outside our control.
• The failure of any music system provided by the venue, you or a third party or the failure of any compact disc or MP3/ipod player to play on any music system provided by the venue, you or a third party.
• The failure, neglect, non-compliance or omissions caused by any venue which is not owned by London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames. Approval of the venue is granted only in connection with the provision of ceremonies. The RuTRS cannot accept liability for the failure or neglect on behalf of the venue, of any agreement between you and the venue for the use or provision of any services and/or facilities.
• Any costs relating to replacement certificates if the non-arrival of posted certificates is not reported within 12 weeks of the ceremony date.

Amendment fee - not applicable for Richmond upon Thames register office bookings

• If it is necessary at your request to change the date, time or venue of your ceremony once your booking has been accepted, an amendment fee will be payable in accordance with our current schedule of fees. All details that are changed at the same time are only subject to one amendment fee. Subsequent changes will require the payment of another amendment fee. If you wish to make an amendment to your ceremony please note that:
• There must be at least 8 weeks between the date that you notify us, and the date that you have booked for your ceremony.
• We can only move this date forward by one year from the date that you contact us. Where applicable, you may also be required to pay an updated or additional ceremony fee. You may also need to give fresh notices, as these are specific to your venue and only valid for one year. If you later cancel your ceremony, these amendment fees are not refundable. We will only accept an amendment to a booking from one of the parties to the ceremony, and not from any other person. Cancellation of ceremonies In the event that you need to cancel a ceremony, you will be required to notify us in writing. We will only accept a cancellation from one of the parties to the ceremony, not from any other person.

Our cancellation policy is as follows:

• Cancellation more than 8 weeks before the ceremony – full refund of ceremony fees, minus an administration fee at the current rate.
• Cancellation less than 8 weeks before the ceremony, failure to cancel or ceremony stopped from proceeding – no refund.
• If payment was made by debit/credit card refunds are paid on to the original card that was used.
• If payment was made by telephone / online this will be actioned automatically.
• If payment was made in person, the cardholder will need to contact us to arrange attending the office for this to be processed; the original receipt and PDQ receipt will need to be produced. If the payment was made more than 6 months previous, a cheque will be raised.
• If payment was made by cash or cheque, refunds will be paid by cheque payable to the person who is named on the receipt.

General

Any reference to Richmond upon Thames Registration Service will also refer to London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in so far as they relate to its legal responsibilities and obligations. Marriage & Civil Partnerships Acts means the Acts of Parliament (and any regulations made under those Acts) covering the legal preliminaries to, the solemnization and registration of a civil marriage / civil partnership either in a register office or approved premises within England and Wales. Venue means Approved Premises approved by LBRuT under the Civil Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) Regulations 2005 for the solemnization and registration of civil marriages and civil partnerships.

We strongly recommend that you take out ceremony insurance to cover any losses or expenses incurred. RuTRS cannot recommend any particular insurance provider to you.