A bit of a rant about my council

I was told I couldn't officially book until there was less than a year to go, but I was allowed to provisionally book before this.

I'll be having my service in the Chapel at my old school and the chaplin will be holding the service. I phoned her about a month ago to get it all booked in but she said there was no point doing anything untill its a year away so to phone again after easter. It is SO annoying because it means I cant book anything because I havent been able to 100% confirm the date. I want to get stuck in an start planning but I cant! grrr! so I feel your pain!

We were able to provisionally book over a year before the date. I think, bearing in mind that things can het book up very early these days for wedding, councils that don't let you do this should be thinking about changing the rules.

I had exactly the same! Wouldn't even pencil me in, you're not alone!

The variations I hear between different councils is massive. Some people allowed a song, others not, some are allowed a certain vow, others aren't!

I booked the registrar in York with over 2 years to go! Suppose it depends on the person you get to speak to and how helpful they want to be.

Last year about April time we decided we were going to get married 24th August 2013 in Kent so we booked a venue and the registrar.... we then decided to change our plans (about a million times - first we weren't going to do it at all, then we were going abroad, then we were running off to a registry office to do it on our own, then it was February 2014, then it was October 2013 in Hereford, now it's August 14th 2013 in Wales - and OH says it's staying that way whether i like it or not! ?) .... Anyway, the point of that ramble was that the registrars in Kent let us book more than 2 years in advance, we paid the deposit and everything so it wasn't just provisionally booked either..... i think it's a right royal pain in the doodaa when councils won't let you book more than a year in advance, and i really don't see the sense in this, how difficult is it to have a spreadsheet for the next year on the go???

I've just emailed the registrar to ask what the process is. We're just about to book our date for next Easter so will hopefully be able to book them soon!

Thanks for the response

it is just frustrating, never mind.

Alice - how annoying, we booked are venue in july last year for march 2013 and I was itching to get planning but was too early. Just hang in there, only a few more weeks. On the other hand its been quite nice having the time to look around at different ideas and not make any decision quickly.

Good luck pink han bag! what date are you goign for?

Sheffield and Barnsley will both let you book fully 2 years in advance, which was really useful!

Barnsley also seem really relaxed about content etc - I asked if we needed to bring copies of our readings and music when we meet the registrar and they said no, as long as there was no religious content. Which seems really laid back compared to some places. We also get to meet the actual registrar that will b doing the ceremony, which doesn't always seem to be the case either, so thats good!

I agree it doesn't help the planning when everywhere is different!

Looking at this thread has shown once again how different areas have completely different rules which drives me barmy - it's the same process you have to go through wherever you live/are getting married so how can it be so different??? Similarly i don't see how different places can charge so much more for the registrar than others - our registrar is now going to cost almost half what it would have if we'd gone with our original plan ?

(Sorry to hi-jack this thread with my own whinge by the way!)

In Glasgow there is no limit on how far in advance you can book - we booked and paid with 19 months to go.

Ring them tomorrow - a lot of councils will be open because, obviously, they do ceremonies on a Saturday. I'd hate for you to ring on Monday and find out someone took the time you want.

Im in Edinburgh and im getting married in Fife they allow two years in advance to book in date and time. I know edinburgh however are a year in advance only. Just depends on the council unfort - same with prices aswell I cant believe how much difference they can charge

How annoying - I booked this week for August 2013.

Suffolk say you can book as far in advance as you want but what you can't do more than a year ahead is issue your notice of marriage because the notice only lasts for a year (they recommend doing it 9 months ahead of your date so you've got 3 months until it expires in case of last minute postponement).

I must admit I thought these rules were England wide and not changeable by each council!

They told me to phone Monday, so think ill wait until then.

I would of thought it would be the same in England.

We thought that about giving notice, don’t want to pay it twice. When I phone they said the next available appointment was end of april, and it will get really busy coming into summer. I work shifts and don’t always have my rota out that far ahead to plan stuff, so I know its going to be a nightmare! Never mind, am sure were get there.

Peppr pots – whinge away, no prob!

Derbyshire CC lets you book 2 years in advance

I know, very useful indeed. We booked ours pretty much exactly 2 years to the date. It really is a weight off your mind, and I can't see why some councils still wait until you're at the year mark.

When we booked it seemed like the change to 2 years was fairly recent still and I got impression it was mostly a case of getting organised enough to know how much you could book etc, committing to the number of registrars for 2 years etc - seeting up the computer diary far enough in advance. Mostly seems an administrative issue rather than anything legal.

It does appear to vary widely with different councils we were able to book and secure ours 18 months in advance and they only had one time left for that day! However we were told that we couldn't give notice until 12 months before and gave us the earliest date we could give notice.

They have been really helpful and said to email any questions so I emailed them our readings which they have approved. They seem to be really laid back.

I think in this day and age the councils should allow people to book further in advance because it could cause problems for securing desired wedding date

We booked ours with City of Westminster Council back in January for September 2013.