DISASTER - HELP NEEDED! Registrar cannot make our wedding slot :(

I don't know about non local registras etc but a lot of people have celebrant weddings and do the legal bit at the registry office with just two witnesses on a different day. They still treat the celebrant ceremony as their actual wedding and celebrate their wedding anniversary on that day. Haven't I also seen don't tell the bride episodes where they do the legal bit the morning after? I personally wouldn't have a problem going to the registry office in normal clothes on a different day like this. If you have the time you could go early morning on your 'wedding' day to do the legal bit then home to get ready for the rest to keep it on the same day if preferred.

I was just about to suggest booking the registry office for a different day either the day before or the day after. That way you can either get a celebrant or ask a friend to do the honours.

I went to a lovely wedding like this; they had a registry office wedding on the Friday with just witnesses attending, and then had their formal wedding celebration with all the friends and family - and her cousin as unofficial celebrant - on the Saturday. The Saturday was lovely.

I think the best solution is to ask about the 2-person signings at the register office. There is usually a special day for them. I'm a wedding photographer in Leeds and we have them on Wednesday mornings here. So people who are having a non-legal ceremony go to the Town Hall on a wednesday and it's about £50 to do the legal paperwork. You just go in your jeans.

Then they have their "real wedding" on the weekend.

This is incorrect.

From personal experience, getting married 'legally' separately to 'ceremonially' is not a big deal and can be cheaper (especially if your friend is your celebrant). Plenty of people do it for weddings abroad e.g. a British couple cannot legally marry in France so the French wedding would just be for show, the legal bit would be done here. And as others have said, it's on DTTB all the time as often they want to marry in places that aren't licensed for legal ceremonies or it's too last minute to get a registrar.

Same thing happened to us. After many many many tears and thinking that the whole wedding would be ruined we decided to do the formal bit the day before and have a celebrant (who is actually a lovely family friend) to do our ceremony on the Saturday.

We're completely tailoring our ceremony, writing our own vows and even though it was not what I had initially planned I think it's going to be absolutely incredible. Plus it's saving us about £200!

Hope your day is lovely - I am sure it will be. We are also getting married at Smeetham Hall barns, it is a lovely venue

Have you spoke to colchester & ipswich might be able to help you out, worth a try?

If you don't want to do the legal bit another day & have a celebrant , why don't you take the 4.30 slot they can offer? Or a speak to the venue & see if you can change your date?

You do have options they're just not your ideal.

As suggested, if all else fails get married midweek, have a blessing / celebrant / get launched from a cannon on the day itself.

It might be more fun, at least based from weddings I've shot like that before.

Maybe not the cannon bit.