Slough Borough Council

Getting married in a religious building

For a marriage in a religious building to be legal in England and Wales, the building has to be registered for worship and marriages with the General Register Office. Your local minister or priest should be able to tell you this information.

In addition, you need to know whether your religious group is able to register its own marriages or whether the attendance of the registrar from the register office is necessary.

For all marriages in a religious building (other than the Church of England/Church in Wales), each person has to give notice of marriage to the superintendent registrar of the district where you live.

Marriages in religious buildings have more rules and regulations than those in register offices or outside venues. In general, one half of the couple must be living in the same registration district as the religious building. There are exceptions to this general rule. If neither of you lives in the same district as the religious building, contact us to see whether your preferred choice is possible.

• If one of you and the religious building are in Slough, please phone 01753 787600 to make an appointment to give your notice of marriage
• If you live in Slough and the religious building is elsewhere, please also phone 01753 787600 to discuss your situation and make your appointment if necessary
• If the religious building is in Slough and you live outside of Slough, you need to phone your local register office to see if it is possible for you to give notice of marriage

 

Marrying in a Church of England / Church in Wales church

You need to contact the vicar of the church where you wish to marry. The register office is not normally involved in any way with the legal paperwork required before the marriage takes place.