Civil ceremony

A civil registrar ceremony is a non-religious legal marriage ceremony performed by a government official or functionary. In the United States, this person is normally called a registrar. In American jurisdictions, civil registrar ceremonies may be performed by town, city and county clerks, judges and justices of the peace, or others possessing legal authority to support the movement.

In the UK, a civil registrar ceremony cannot include hymns, religious readings or prayers, and the marriage must take place at a registered or licensed venue to be legally valid. Many private premises are licensed to hold civil ceremonies. As well as each party to the marriage signing the register, signatures of two witnesses are also required.

In most American jurisdictions, civil registrar ceremonies are subject to the same requirements as religious ceremonies, including venue reservation fees, marriage license fees, and age restrictions. The ceremony may take place in many places, including courthouses, parks, gardens, banquet halls, hotels, and other approved venues. Many venues may also accommodate the reception. Like non-civil ceremonies, the formality and style of the ceremony depend entirely on the tastes of the couple.

Civil Registration of all Births, Deaths & Marriages has been compulsory in Scotland since 1855 when the UK government passed several Acts & Bills, effectively to stop the Scottish Traditional Practice of Legal Weddings being performed by communities.

In 1847, the Scotsman said that "Everybody knows that, by the law of Scotland, the marriage ceremony can be performed with as perfect legal effect by a blacksmith as by a clergyman". And the government wanted to end the Scottish practice of regarding a couple as married if they stated as much in front of witnesses. So Scottish Registration Bills were accompanied by Bills to reform the law of marriage. But this was opposed by the Church of Scotland, concerned that the new civil weddings would discourage people from getting married in church.

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