Hi there,
I would like to get married but do not want to do it in a church or a registry office as i would like as little fuss and as few people as possible. I was hoping you may be able to help with any suggestions of alternatives? I would like to stay in this country. Thank you so much for any help you can give. louise
Hi Louise,
Funnily enough, getting married in a register office is one of the least 'fussy' ways of getting married – you don't have to dress up if you don't want to for one thing. I'm afraid you can't get away from the fact that you need to have two witnesses and a registrar to legally marry.
You mention "little fuss and as few people as possible" and it seems to me that a swift marriage performed by a registrar with two witnesses in a register office is the easiest way to have a minimal wedding. That is the fewest people that could legally be involved, and a register office wedding without other guests is incredibly easy and cheap to organise.
You will still need to have those three people if you wanted to marry legally in another location, such as a civil wedding venue, and that would require booking and payment for the venue to be hired out for your ceremony.
Even if you just wanted to have a private ceremony conducted by a humanist or other alternative celebrant, you'd still have to go and get the paperwork part (and the minimal vows) dealt with by a registrar with two witnesses at the register office, so you're back to square one again.
I can't help but wonder if there is another reason for wanting such a minimal wedding. Are you worried about costs and satisfying other people's expectations getting out of control? I can assure you that it is possible to have a small, intimate wedding with a few guests on a modest budget and with minimal fuss, without having to shy away from everything altogether.
Maybe you just like to keep things simple, and if that's the case, I'm afraid there aren't many options other than those I've given already. I hope that helps, and best of luck to you both.
Emma
