Statutory Marriage booked - Did you have one ?

[DillyHilly]

Booked our wedding today , we've been together forever it's being done for purely crossing the t's and dotting the I 's , so we've booked a statutory one which is basic and only the 2 witnesses allowed , no frills .
If you've had one or was a witness , what are they like ?
6 weeks time .

We had one. It didn’t devalue the experience for us one bit. We went along to the registry office, said our vows. Everything signed, a few photographs taken and back home, where we had a couple of drinks. The staff who officiated made a feel like any other wedding service, just without hordes of people. We thought it was great.

We had the absolute basic - no music, no frills, I literally just said 'I will', signed the paperwork. The 2 registrars were lovely. Job done. Now let's go for lunch

Yes those are my kind of wedding !
We are planning on taking the 2 being our witness out to lunch after . No-one else knows .

When we arrived at the register office my soon to be husband asked the Registrar ‘ what’s the shortest ceremony you can do’ Were told the exchange of rings could be left out. I was a bit surprised as he’d not mentioned any of this previously but went along with it. He had an ulterior motive for marrying me which I found out a few weeks later.
Spoiler: it didn’t last.

But that’s just my experience!! You have a great day in a way you want and Congratulations 🍾

@Allthehorsesintheworld

Lol sounds intriguing !

We had one. It was during covid times so weren't allowed anything really big and with most of DW's family living quite far away, they weren't able to make it.

It was really lovely. We all went in together, said our vows, everyone signed the declaration, we exchanged rings etc then went outside for more photos.

We're planning on having a bigger celebration with more people another time, possibly on one of our anniversaries.

Thanks for sharing all your experiences .

Thats what I wanted, only some family and some friends were horrified and insisted on turning up - so I picked their smallest room - 12 :)

Like you we married to dot the I's and cross the t's, we had lived together and shared everything for 13 years, but funnily enough we both got quite emotional with our vows

As a registrar the ceremony is exactly the same as any other but for bigger ceremonies we will offer add ons and a selection of vows, readings etc. However, many people opt for the big ceremony in terms of guests but still choose the statutory in terms of vows.
Most registrars prefer the intimate ceremonies. It is no less of a ceremony to us but often feels more for the couple if that makes sense.
You'll have a lovely relaxed ceremony I am sure!

Yes, we had the basic ceremony, both in comfy clothes as we wanted to feel like our true selves on the day. 2 lovely local mumsnetters volunteered as witnesses then we went home to the dogs and a bacon sandwich and cuppa. Went for an Indian that night. We'd been living together for a few years, both in our 40's and really didn't want the stress and fuss of family etc. Told people afterwards. To be honest we felt it was important that our ceremony was private between the two of us. Looked around during it and both of the mumsnetters were in tears! ❤️

Oh I remember this! Are you the lady who asked on here who was free to be a witness in a certain area?

I did but I think others have done it too

What is a Statutory Marriage and how does it differ from an ordinary marriage? Serious question - I'm not from the UK.

We just had 4 guests/witnesses, we wore what we already had, I bought some flowers in Waitrose and we went to Wetherspoons afterwards. I arranged the whole thing in 4 weeks in order to get married while my mum was still alive, she died the day after.

We did have what I think of as a 'proper' wedding the year after, a humanist service with a family party afterwards of about 40 people, but no huge wedding costing thousands of pounds.

I felt married after the first one, but I felt that we had had a wedding after the second.

For those asking , it's very basic , no guests allowed , just the two witnesses , no photographer allowed , no music , just the minimal wording even rings don't have to be exchanged . I think the ' ceremony ' takes about 10 minutes.
We have been together for over 20 years and know each other inside out warts and all , no kids together .
It's not being done all roses & butterflies in a romantic hue , as after that length of relationship we feel married anyway .

So you mean Registry wedding then? Done at the Registry Office?

@IdylicDay
Yes it's in the registry office , but it's a simple version of the usual one they normally do . It's often on certain days only , often earlier in the morning ( basically less popular times ) no frills .