Civil & Religious Marriages

RELIGIOUS/BELIEF WEDDING CEREMONIES 

The ceremony may, with the agreement of the Officiant, take place anywhere in Northern Ireland, apart from venues approved as Registrar’s Office.

A religious/belief marriage can only be performed by a minister, priest or pastor or person who has been registered as an officiant and authorised by the Registrar General to conduct religious/belief marriages.

You will need to give notice to Lisburn Registration Office if you are having a religious/belief wedding ceremony within the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area. 

Once you have given notice, we will arrange an appointment for you to collect the marriage schedule (this cannot be issued more than 14 days before the ceremony and can only be collected by one of the couple/or both depending on the paperwork. At this appointment original documents must be shown before the schedule can be issued.

How to register your marriage/returning your marriage schedule

Couples marrying by religious/belief ceremony should make sure that the schedule is returned to the Registrar within three days, either in person or by post.

If you don't return the marriage schedule you won't be able to order a certified copy of your marriage.

CIVIL WEDDING CEREMONIES

A civil marriage ceremony can be conducted by a registrar or deputy registrar for the district in which it is to take place. If marrying in a civil ceremony, the Registrar will register the marriage after the ceremony.

If you decide to have your ceremony at Lisburn Registration Office, or at one of our approved venues within the district of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council, please contact us for availability and advice.  Please ring 028 9244 7263 or email bdm.registration@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk

To be able to marry in Northern Ireland

Any two persons, regardless of where they live, may marry in Northern Ireland provided there is no legal impediment; namely:

• both persons are at least 18 years of age on the day of their marriage or persons over 16 and under 18 years of age have obtained the necessary consent for marriage;
• they are not related to one another in a way that would prevent their marrying – if in doubt please consult the local registrar;
• they are unmarried (any person who has already been married must produce documentary evidence that the previous marriage has been ended by death, divorce or annulment);
• they are not part of any civil partnership (any person who has already been in a civil partnership must produce documentary evidence that the person’s civil partnership has ended);
• they are capable of understanding the nature of a marriage ceremony and of consenting to the marriage.

Before you can get married within the Lisburn & Castlereagh district, you and your partner will need to complete a marriage notice form and produce other essential documents. For more information on this please click here.

Marriage Fees