The Civil Service

In order for a marriage to be legally recognised in the UK it must either take place in a church or, if the couple do not want a religious ceremony they can opt to have a ‘civil service’ which is conducted by an authorised registrar. The civil service uses many of the traditions of a church wedding.

The guests are directed to their seats by the ushers. The ushers are usually close male friends of the bride and groom. As the guests are taking their seats the groom and his attendants (best man/men) also take their seats. The groom is always seated at the front of the room to the right of the aisle and his attendants sit to his right. The best man is chosen by the groom and is usually a close male relative or close friend. There is no restriction on the number of male attendants but it is usual to have one or two as a maximum.

The groom sitting on the right of the aisle is a tradition which goes back to when men carried swords. As the sword was carried in the right hand the bride needed to stand to the grooms left. This would allow him to defend his new bride more easily should the need arise.

Once the guests have all taken their seats then the bride enters from the rear of the room. The bride is accompanied by the senior male member of her family (usually her father) and her closest female friends or family (bridesmaids). The bride and her attendants walk down the aisle until they reach the front. At this point the brides father leaves her and takes his seat along with the bridesmaids. They sit at the front left of the room along with the brides mother. This process is known as ‘giving away’ and symbolises the brides family handing over responsibility for their daughter to the groom.

The registrar will say a few words regarding marriage and the importance of the promises (vows) that the bride and groom are about to make. The bride and groom then make their vows. These vows can be written by the bride and groom or they can use traditional wording. The vows centre on the bride and groom committing to respect, love and support each other for the rest of their lives. The bride and groom confirm they enter into the marriage freely and are willing to uphold the vows they have made by answering a question posed by the registrar with the words ‘I do’. The couple exchange rings which symbolise the commitment they have made.

The couple then sign the register. Once the register has been signed then the marriage is legally recognised and a marriage certificate can be issued by the registrar. At this point the registrar will often introduce the couple to the guests as ‘Mr & Mrs’ for the first time.

Finally the bride and groom walk out of the room together as a married couple. The civil ceremony is now complete and the couple are legally married.