What's your opinion on church/registry office weddings and why?

Sounds to me as though you are doing what feels right for you. Also you are staying true to your own principles despite any external pressures which is not always easy.

We are getting married in church. We are both Christians so getting married anywhere else would not feel right. My last wedding was in a register office and I hated it because it did not feel meaningful to me - there was no spiritual aspect. But that's what important to me and I acknowledge that people have differing priorities.

Our wedding will take about an hour and a half as it has lots of music and full communion of all the guests. It is absolutely central to our being married - I am far less interested int he reception which we could both do without really!

As long as you are happy.

I too am atheist (although I was Christened as a kid) and would never marry in a church. I would feel like such a hypocrite, to me it would be the same as deciding I wanted to get married in a mosque or a synagogue. What's the point when you don't follow that religion? I can understand some people do it just because churches can be beautiful (some of them a plain creepy though) but it's just not for me.

I wouldn't get married in a registry office either to be honest. Are you getting married in the one on Sidmouth Avenue? It is quite pretty there and the Brampton is nice for photo's etc, but I've just never envisioned myself getting married in a registry office. Maybe it goes back to the conveyor belt wedding, I don't want to see another bride on my wedding day (although looks like I will now anyway! pah).

My H2B has been married twice before, once in a church, once in a registry office, so a hotel wedding was on the cards from the beginning!!! lol.

We're having a civil ceremony as neither of us have particularly strong beliefs either way. If OH was religious and wanted to get married in church I would have done that for him and vice versa. We're getting married in a hotel rather than a registry office though.

I am not religious and either is my OH so we would not get married in a church (no matter how gorgeous they can be inside). When i initially got engaged years and years ago i thought i would do the whole thing including ceremony in a hotel as the main registry office at the time where i live was a bit scabby.

However they opened a new one a couple of years ago and i have attended one wedding which i thought was just lovely. I think i like that it feels slightly more official that in a hotel.

I am also having some music,not sure about readings etc. I think i will be really nervous and want the ceremony part to be over quite quickly.

There is no reason why it can't be beautiful and i think it is more about the people who are getting married,if they are happy and in love they could get married in a car park and you would still share the happiness.

Flash some pics of it

Neither of us believe in God so we will be married by a registrar. However, first wedding, really want the big white dress, etc, etc. so we are getting married in a local hall. It looks very churchy so will be nice for the photographs, but it will be a civil ceremony as we felt it would be fake for us to have a church wedding given that we don't believe in God.

Our venue is: http://www.pollokshieldsburghhall.com/

Yes Angie, I am coming back home to get married in Newcastle. Have lived in London for 9 years but getting married at home means a lot to me. I like the registry office as it is in a nice leafy residential street (rather next to a main road).

I see what you mean skybright, if I couldn't find a nice registry office I don't know what we would do!

I don't think I could get married in a hotel though, that has never appealed to me. That said, I have never been to a hotel wedding.

Sbird and skybright, both of your venues look lovely!

There were only a handful of venues to hold it in Staffs (that weren't hotels that is!) so I was limited to the registry offices.

I will be wearing a wedding dress and having bridesmaids!

I'm an athiest but I'm getting married in a Church for my OH. My OH isn't particularly reglious i.e. doesnt go to church every week, but he believes in God and was brought up attending church and was in the church choir etc. He really wanted to get married in a church and so I thought I'd do it for him as I know it means so much to him. Also we're getting married at his mum's church i.e. the one his grandparents got married in, his parents got married in, him and his siblings were Christened in and where he was confirmed. It means a lot to the family so I'm happy to do it. I'm going to find it hard though as it isnt what I believe in and I'll find the ceremony quite difficult as it will be as much about God as it is about us. I've discussed it with OH and he knows how I feel and appreciates what I am doing but it does upset me a little. I would have prefered a civil ceremony in a hotel but I've compromised for my OH as I love him so much and its important to him!

I am also worried about the meeting with the vicar at the end of the month. I dont know how she'll react if I tell her that I dont believe! ?

I'm getting married in a hotel that has a civil ceremony licence, so basically the same ceremony as in a register office but in a different venue! We did consider a register office wedding but changed our minds after someone pointed out that parking in the city centre on a Friday afternoon could be a bit of a nightmare (especially if the weather is bad, which is a reasonable bet in early March!). Also, the hotel has the added bonus that we can have our wedding breakfast in the same venue so people don't need to travel anywhere else.

This is my second marriage which is the main reason we never even considered a church wedding; I'm (lapsed) Catholic so I couldn't have got remarried in a church that means anything to me and H2B isn't particularly religious so we thought a non-religious ceremony would be more appropriate. At the end of the day, the God I believe in is omnipresent (and forgiving!) so he'll be there wherever I get married. ?

Thank you! The registry office in Glasgow isn't my kind of style. Similarly, there were only a few venues that weren't hotels, luckily this one was perfect for us. I wasn;t keen on the hotel idea either, terrified that one day it might be converted in to a Travelodge, he he - only joking! In all seriousness though, we just didn't fancy other people being in the hotel while we got married, even though we would have our own section, we really wanted a venue all to ourselves - and couldn't afford to exclusively book a hotel.

I am atheist, as is my boy. My family is Catholic, while his are nominally Christian. My mother would have loved for us to get married in a church but it was never going to happen. My atheism is an encompassing part of my character (and I'd strongly disagree with anyone who tried to define it as a "belief" in its own right, grrr, How To Annoy An Athiest 101) so even if my boy had wanted us to get married in a church, I would have refused. Although, if I'm honest, I wouldn't be going out with him if he was a believer.

Edit: grammar police alert. You get married in a Register Office, not a Registry Office.

I would never get married in a church- as i havent been for years and it annoys me when ppl just do it for the pictures

i have only seen one registry office and the room was horrid- really boring.

we choose to get married in a hotel- all in one place and its gorgeous- and actually our cermoney will be in the gardens if the weather is nice!

i cant really comment on the registy offices- as i havent been to a registy office wedding

It can also be known as a REGISTRARS OFFICE, as its an office where the registrar works.

church for me, church for bloke, we love church tho I dont belong to one and we dont attend but it was the only option for us coz we deemed it to be right.

just found out the church we married in is going to be 'closing down', very very sad....

I don't believe in God, but OH attends church most Sundays, albeit more as a way of spending time with his 91 year old grandfather than any strong religious convictions. He takes communion and is on the reading list and the church gardening committee etc. The old ladies love him. I go along once every couple of months.

Both of us were christened and it was important to him to get married in a church, so that was fine by me. In general, I prefer a church ceremony as I love the hymns and the readings. I've been to dozens of weddings (9 last year alone) and I've probably only been to 2 civil ceremonies. Most people where I live are Christian though, and actually, the only civil weddings I've been to have been away in England.

I went to a friend's wedding the other year and it was in a beautiful church in Jersey and, as they're both very religious and involved with their church, it was really meaningful and made me realise that I'd be a complete hypocrite if I got married in a church. I want a memorable day and I want some lovely words but even though I was raised Catholic I never go to church anymore and don't have any kind of attachment to my church anymore. If I got married in a church it'd be either for the sake of the photographs or to please other people, neither of which are the right reason in my opinion.

I've been to a couple of weddings where the couple don't go to church but have some other, non-religious reason for wanting to get married in a church and it just didn't feel right, I didn't enjoy listening to people making promises to God when they probably don't really believe in God.

On the other side of it, I recently went to a friend's wedding at the register office in Leeds, which is now based in the Town Hall and is beautiful, and it was a really wonderful ceremony. There were only the B & G, 2 witnesses, me and my friend - the B&G were having their main celebration at B's mum's house in France, but couldn't get married over there because of the time period etc. None of us were expecting the ceremony to be moving or emotional, not even the B&G, they just wanted the legal bit out of the way so they could go to their party, and it turned out to be such a beautiful day, the registrar let all of us sign the book as there were so few of us and it was just a lovely feeling to be a part of something so private.

I know this and am a bit of a pedant myself (misplaced apostrophes etc), but whilst where I am getting married is officially called the Register Office, I am not incorrect in calling it the Registry Office. As someone else said, it can also be called "Registrar's Office" or I have even seen one called "Office for Births, Marriages and Deaths"- a mouthful I am sure you will agree.

If you don't believe me, I have been a geek and found a link https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/registry-office

Maybe now I am the biggest pedant ?

I never thought that i would get married in a church I had been agnostic (as in not really sure what i believed...) for eons, but i was baptised as a baby. My H2b is catholic but non attending apart from high days and holidays, FIL2b is getting ordained as a Deacon and thus could take our ceremony if we got married in a catholic church. (after much hoop jumping). To be truthful churches used to give me the willies and i would avoid going in them like the plague. We originally planned to get married in a hotel where the lovely elizabeth is getting married, but FIL2b asked about the church thing and we went away and thought about it (photos really did not figure at this point) and we decided as a couple to go to our local catholic church for a few weeks and just to explore the option, and we have continued going on a weekly basis and it has really helped my H2b with some of the problems he was dealing with. I really enjoy going as much for the singing and the thinking things through. As a result we feel that by having our wedding within the church it is more a commitment and less like a legal contract that could be broken.....

I really think that people getting married in a religious ceremony atleast one of them should believe in the principles. I sometimes wish that "some" registrars could bring a bit more gravitas to the ceremony, and i am not keen on the short ceremony where you blink and you could miss it

Definitely no church for us because although we were both christened as babies, neither of us are at all religious. We're getting married in a lovely venue where we can have the ceremony and reception all in one place. Hoping for good weather as the grounds are lovely! ❤️

We are getting married in a hotel, because we aren't particularly religious, and we wanted the ceremony to be about us and our committment in marriage, rather than about God and hymns etc. I do like church weddings as well, but it just wasn't for us.

Register office for us. Both of us are pretty staunch atheists and so a church was never on the cards (or a Hindu ceremony... go away Dad!). The register office we have chosen is, we think, a lot nicer looking than most (set inside a town hall iyswim) and the room is the Grand Chamber of the town hall so is fairly, well, grand, and seats 100. Most importantly, it was where my parents got married, and there have been a fair number of other family weddings there too so has some personal history to it.

I also feel like... okay, I'm not sure how to put this feeling into words but I will try!... it feels like marrying at our local register office connects us somehow with the area in which we live. I suppose in much the same way as a church would, except that where we live (relatively inner-city), churches no longer (if they ever did) perform that function of being a community space. So when we get married I will have in my mind all the people who married there before me and will marry there after me, and all the people who will return there to register the births of their babies and the deaths of their loved ones. Sends a shiver down my spine, in the loveliest way possible.

I got married in a register office before and I think that was fate.

Now I've found my perfect man I can have my dream day ?

Although I don't go to church regularly I do believe in God and would like to be married in the church in the parish I grew up in as it was such a big part of my life. I didn't realise how big a deal it was to me until we had arranged to see first the curate and then the vicar to see if they'd marry us. I was in tears while driving to the vicar's as I was petrified he'd say no. I don't know what we would have done. I'm planning to go to some services before the wedding but it's hard seeing as it's over half hour away and I usually only have one in three weekends off

'Registry' may be used in some English speaking countries but in England and Wales we have 'Register offices' and some of them now aren't technically Register Offices.

Good to remember as well that you don't have to get married in your local register office. If there is a beautiful office 10 miles away you can still get married in that one. It's good to check all of them out within your travelling distance, even if that is in another county!

The minister who married us is someone whom we have known for years..... through his children.

we didnt get questioned or have to prove anything, he didnt even ask us our beliefs etc, no marrriage lessons or visits, tho we did attend the carols on xmas eve before we got hitched... church of scotland rocks! )

Albeit not for getting its flock into heaven. ?

Definately church wedding for me...

I do believe in God, and for me its quite important to say my vows before God aswell as our friends and family, so a civil ceremony would not feel right for me having no spiritual content whatsoever. My OH isn't particularly religious, but he knows the importance of it to me, as my parents also married there.

However, I do not attend church regularly (I'm preparing to be flamed here for wanting a church wedding but not attending...). For me, religion is a personal thing, and I don't like the cliquey socialness of going to church. On the occasions that we have been, we were asked numerous times if we were local, if we were visiting and a couple of people said 'ooooh I've not seen you here before'! I appreciate God in my own time and space, and to be honest when I do go to church the last thing I want to is have a coffee and a natter and a gossip (and be pointed out as a stranger to the congregation!). But then I suppose thats village life ?

If I wanted a nice building for photos, there are plenty to choose from that aren't churches (and tbh I'd rather not have gravestones in my wedding pictures but its going to be somewhat unavoidable since the church is surrounded by them on all sides lol) , so its definately more about the religious aspect for me.

I've been to two civil ceremonies - One was *beautiful*, everything about it was wonderful and I was bawling by the end of it as it was so touching, and the other was over as soon as it had begun! I haven't been to a church wedding since I was much younger, so I'm not really sure what to expect with it tbh!

I very often do ceremonies that are over in 10 minutes but that's because the couple have chosen it that way.

Each couple has the choice of what is said and involved in their ceremony such as giving away and extra promises. If they choose the shortest version of everything with no readings then I'm afraid it is very quick.

Some people prefer that the legal bit be over and done with (and to be fair, the only relevant part is the legal bit) and let others bawl/be touched (not in a wierd way) by the first dance, the speeches, whatever...

Definantly no church wedding for us, although i'm christened. Myself and h2b arn't religious so we decided on a civil ceremony much to my dad's displeasure! x

explain???

We're getting married in our local parish church. I'm not religious but OH was brought up christian and it's something he has always wanted and is important to him and his family so I'm happy to do it for him. It's not that I don't believe in.... something... but I'm just unsure of what I believe in.

That you didn't necessarily have to demonstrate any belief in order to get married in a Church of Scotland church:

we didnt get questioned or have to prove anything, he didnt even ask us our beliefs etc, no marrriage lessons or visits, tho we did attend the carols on xmas eve before we got hitched.

So they want weddings but not believers.