Humanist ceremony

Peaches · Post by **Peaches** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 11:08 am

Does anyone know if a COA is needed for a humanist wedding? It is recognised as legally valid in Scotland but I cannot find info on that topic on the website.
Also, is it required to have a ring at a civil/ humanist wedding? As my partner and I will have to rush our wedding owing to circumstances out of our control and finances are a bit tight at the moment, we would prefer to present each other with rings when we have more money to buy something special..

Dawie · Post by **Dawie** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 11:48 am

No matter whether you have a humanist wedding, or a conventional church wedding, you will still need to attend a Register Office a day or two before the ceremony to deal with the legal formalities and obtain a civil marriage certificate. So yes, the COA is still required if you would normally require one in order to obtain the civil marriage certificate.

The actual humanist ceremony is seperate and distinct from the Register Office ceremony and can be held anywhere and you can do whatever you want.

Peaches · Post by **Peaches** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 12:01 pm

Thanks Dawie.. Just for the record and reference of others reading this, I was under the impression that for a ceremony in the Church of England a COA is not needed though?
And is it a requirement to exchange rings at a civil ceremony?

Peaches · Post by **Peaches** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 12:26 pm

Lol, just found the answer to my question - a ring is not a requirement for civil ceremonies

VictoriaS · Post by **VictoriaS** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 8:16 pm

The COA is not needed for a C of E wedding because, unlike other ministers, a C of E vicar is also a registrar, so there is no need for a prior legal ceremony.

Victoria

Post by **John** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 8:39 pm

The COA is not needed for a C of E wedding because, unlike other ministers, a C of E vicar is also a registrar, so there is no need for a prior legal ceremony.

I don't think that is quite right, in the sense that there is still a procedure to go through with a C of E wedding, but instead of a notice posted on the board at a Register Office, the banns have to be read in Church on three Sundays.

Supposedly that gives just as much publicity to the proposed wedding as the notice posted at the Register Office. Oh yes? How many people there in Church to hear the banns?

VictoriaS · Post by **VictoriaS** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 8:47 pm

The Banns is the equivalent of giving notice. But the Vicar does have the same legal rights and responsibilities as a registrar, in that the wedding service he performs is a legal marriage, not just a religious ceremony.
This is why, unlike with roman catholic ceremonies, there is no need to send the certificate off to get signed and no need to have a prior civil ceremony.

Victoria

Post by **John** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 8:59 pm

Sorry Victoria, I don't think that is quite right. Quite a number of places of public worship have a Registrar appointed. That is, the Register Office will formally authorise someone, or maybe two or three people, to act as Registrar at a marriage ceremony to be held in that place of public worship.

If that has happened then that person can issue the marriage certificate to the couple on the day.

Where someone has not been so appointed, such as the Church I now attend, it is necessary for the place of public worship to book a Registrar from the Register Office to come to the ceremony, and that person issues the certificate on the day.

In order for the Register Office to agree to appoint one or more persons to act as Registrar, the place of public worship has to have a safe of sufficient size and rating, to ensure that the legal records of marriages are held securely.

VictoriaS · Post by **VictoriaS** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 9:06 pm

But a C of E vicar is automatically given the powers of the registrar, it being the state church and all that.

Victoria

Post by **John** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 9:12 pm

Totally agree with that, but other places of public worship can also have their own Registrar appointed. Not a question of any need "to send the certificate off to get signed".

VictoriaS · Post by **VictoriaS** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 9:55 pm

Fair enough. My experiences are limited to C of E, RC and Orthodox Church of Romania!

Victoria

Peaches · Post by **Peaches** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:49 am

Apparently that is only for England though - a ceremony in a Church of England church in Scotland would still require a COA (see http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/siteco ... idance.pdf - 5.1 'The rules on certificates of approval do not currently apply if you plan to get married at an Anglican Church in England or Wales, after marriage banns or an ecclesiastical licence.' )

Post by **vinny** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 11:09 am

I wonder why Anglican churches in Scotland and Northern Ireland are not included in the exemption?

VictoriaS · Post by **VictoriaS** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 2:04 pm

Because the Church of England is not the established church in Scotland or Ireland.

Victoria

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Humanist ceremony

Humanist ceremony

Humanist ceremony