The Civil Registration Act 2004, Due to be fully implemented in 2007, will harmonise the situation for all marriages, regardless of denomination, and remove inequities in the old marriages laws, which date from 1865.
The new law will come into effect on Monday 5th November 2007. From this date civil weddings will be allowed to take place outside their offices.
A couple can apply for a license from 5th August 2007 with the local registrar. For the first six months ceremonies will be able to take place from Monday to Friday inclusive but not Saturday and Sundays.
Under the new law, couples will be free to choose the venue their wedding ceremony. There will, as always, be rules and regulations. Couples will need approval from the local registrar for the marriage to take place. (There are 29 registrars in the country.) Food and drink cannot be served during the ceremony. The venue has to be open to the public. There must be no religious paraphernalia of aspect to the ceremony.
All preliminaries and paperwork, including the fee, must be completed before the registrar comes to solemnise the marriage. Three months' notice must be given in person. Where couples live abroad, the can apply in writing, but must appear in person at a given date beforehand.