I have now blooming well decided that we are gonna have a late registry office ceremony, then off to Roayl Wells/Highrocks for a good ol' knees up and some nibbles (was thinking hogroast with fresh rolls, and some potato, pasta salady type bits). Please ladies do not let me change my mind!!! the only thing that has to be decided is which of the 2 venue's we will use for reception.!!!!! I am falling at the first hurdle here. if can cut back the price then the wedding moves forward!!!!!!! i will do this for under £2000 if it kills me. xxxx
CommentAuthorJessica
Sounds nice, i have managed mine for under £2000 and had 11 months to save for it and plan it. Im sure everyone will enjoy your day whatever you choose. It will be exciting if you can bring it forward. good luck x
CommentAuthorjules
that sounds like my kinda wedding, i kept changing my wedding details in the begining it was a church just to please family i was getting stressed with table cloths bridesmaids dresses i could not cope so i said thats it im getting married abroad so i am lol no stress its your day you do what you want x
CommentAuthorohfiddles
bloomin registry offic is so annoying!!!! i emailed them over a week ago about prices and they still havent got back to me. i am gonna ring them in a bit and in a very polite manner ask what the delay is xxx
CommentAuthorcymrugal
i would go down there yourself make your precence felt. x
Well just got off the phone and a civil ceremony with up to 50 guest is £490. then on top of that is a £50 non refunable deposit (fare enough but i thought that would come out the price) then the £3.50 for marriage certificate and the £60 for notice of marriage!!!!!!! i cant believe it. thats more expensive than the hotel i was looking at. i am supposed to be finding cheaper alternatives. *huffs disgruntledly* lol xxx
CommentAuthorcymrugal
is that 60 pound to have your bans read?
CommentAuthorohfiddles
well because its a civil ceremony its not called, reading of the banns. but it is similar. it is basically the legal requirment you have to do in order to get married. (also referred to as marriage licence) xx
CommentAuthorcymrugal
aaah right yes ive come across that, we had to have our bans read, if you ask me it was a waste of time, as we werent even getting married in the county they were read. x
CommentAuthorCeCe
Sounds fab...
CommentAuthorammo
wow that is alot.
CommentAuthormrs pinkalice
my registrar is coming to my venue, thats costs £430 plus £30 each for notice of marriage, and we've already paid the £50 deposit. RIP OFF! xx
CommentAuthorSuzi
ohfiddles you will probably find it is so high because you are getting married on a Sunday! I am paying the same price except my non-refundable deposit was only £10. My price is so high as they are coming to the venue to do it on a Saturday! How about chaning the day of the wedding? x x
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CommentAuthorohfiddles
nope my price is for midweek (havent decided on exact date yet, 26th feb is the date we got engaged lol). Its really expensive, its only£40 if i only want us and witnesses but i would cry if i couldn't have more than that. there are 10 people on my side at least that HAVE to be there. i am gonna keep hunting, i will get it cheap somwhere. haggling queen is gonna make some phone calls lmao xxx
CommentAuthorSuzi
I don't understand that... was it to have the ceremony actually IN the registry office??? Cos if so I would be looking at going to another office cos that is ridiculous!!! However if it is to have it elsewhere then that is about right, although it still seems high for midweek!
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CommentAuthorohfiddles
thats at the office!!! the woman said it is because the west kent (thats where i live) registry offices only do kentish wedding ceremonies, when i said i only want a normal one she told me thats the best i am gonna get so i either pay it, get married somewhere else or dont get married at all. yes i did talk to the person in charge after that but he was a total a rse too lmao xxxx
CommentAuthorSuzi
That is unbelievable.. how about using another office?? the only problem is that using another office I think you have to give 2 lots of notice.. one at your office and one at the office you wanna get married at!
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CommentAuthorDrunchPunk
Ohfiddles, remember that if you book a hotel to have the ceremony there, then on top of whatever you pay the venue there'll be registrar fees to pay.
What I mean is, to get married at the registry office is £490. If you were to get married at a hotel, the hotel will charge you, say, £500 to hire the room. Then you'll ALSO have to pay the £490 for the registrar to attend at the hotel.
It's pretty much never the case that a hotel venue fee will include the registrar fees.
CommentAuthorohfiddles
yeah you do. i am just gonna go for the hotel that we looked at. i have gotta check that there ceremony fee includes the registra's attendance though xx
CommentAuthorMrs Daltry
omg our registry office is costing £164,but then again thats at their premises
CommentAuthorohfiddles
yeah so is this. cant believe it, just got off phone to the royal wells hotel and (lady has to check with wedding co-ordinator and ring back as she isnt sure) their fee is £250 and i can have twice as many guest and includes registra fees!!!!! i cant see how they are charging so much when the local hotels are so much cheaper and more flexible. never mind their loss i suppose lol xx
CommentAuthorDrunchPunk
edited
People are always saying that the registrar's fees seem like a 'rip-off'. But the cash doesn't just disappear into the pocket of the person doing the ceremony! It has to fund the whole office, including taxes, salaries, building maintenance, admin etc. It's not just 'turning up' and 'handing over a bit of paper'. It's a whole industry. It amazes me that people choose this bit to complain about as well, since the getting married bit is pretty much the whole point of the day! I'd rather complain about the flowers..
CommentAuthorSuzi
I don't understand that hun!! i would get them to check and double check as im with Drunch on this one! Normally a venue's fee's would NOT include the registrars fees!
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CommentAuthorMrs Daltry
alot of them just add extra just to make money out of it,,which is so wrong,you say its for a wedding and they start sticking zeros on the end of the price
CommentAuthorohfiddles
sorry i meant i cant see how the registry office is charging more than the hotel, or did everyone get that? im so confused :O$
CommentAuthorDrunchPunk
Ohfiddles, this is why you should check! Registry offices are not in the habit of reducing fees, as it's not like you have a great deal of choice - they either marry you, or you don't get married :)
£250 does not sound like it should cover the venue and registrar..
CommentAuthorSuzi
I agree... im paying £500 for the venue ceremony room plus £490 for the registrars fee's
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CommentAuthorDrunchPunk
Practically speaking, I can't see why the venue fee would ever include the registrar's fees. It means the venue is involved with your giving notice and marriage licence, and means the registry office is dependent on the venue for payment. If I were the registry office, I'd make sure the couple were responsible, not the venue!
CommentAuthorMrs Daltry
omg suzi thats so expensive!!!!!!!,,jesus im glad we opted for just the registry office now
CommentAuthorSuzi
Its about average Tiggs to be honest! The cheapest quote we had for the ceremony room was £400!
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CommentAuthorohfiddles
edited
ahhh right ok, i lost myself for a moment there, sorry. i still think £490 room hire plus all extra charges is alot for registry office wedding though, and for only 50 geusts, and i dont like that they only do this fancy Kentish wedding thingy. maybe thats just me though, im a bit tight when it comes to forking out the cash proper bargain hunter me lol well i did only speak to the receptionist at the hotel, she said she will get wedding co-ordinater to call back and comfirm the price. we shall see. Now i know at least registry office is a no go lol xxx
edit : i did mean just the hiring of the registra was in the hotel fees, not the notice of marriage bit xxx
CommentAuthorDrunchPunk
Ohfiddles - I think what we're saying is that unless you get married at a venue that's served by another registry office (with significantly lower fees), then you're unlikely to get the whole thing cheaper than a registry office do. Because whichever way you look at it, the registrar has to be there, and has to be paid!
So definitely double check any price you're given!
CommentAuthorTigerlily
just messaged you on facebook hun!
Can't wait to be Mrs Simmons
I love my boys! xxxxxxxxxx
CommentAuthorohfiddles
ok thanks ladies, im really sorry to make everything so confusing lol xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
CommentAuthorohfiddles
cheers liz xx
CommentAuthorTigerlily
we looked at the royal wells and when they give you the price list it works out as alot and i think i got told you have to pay more for the registrar which is why we didnt choose it and went for the registry office as the royal wells was too much of our budget and we started out with the same budget as you hun! x
Can't wait to be Mrs Simmons
I love my boys! xxxxxxxxxx
CommentAuthorohfiddles
i give up lmao. stupid people from different places (none of you) getting me all confused. i wish they would just say when you ask them, yes that all inclusive or no there are further fees, its not nice to make us have to find these things out the hard way. its blooming stressfull enough lol. never mind i am sure my brain will click in a minute and it will all come clear xxx
CommentAuthorSuzi
OK hun here is a quick breakdown:-
The venue will charge you a "ceremony" room hire normally ranging between £200 to £1000
The registrar will also charge you a fee to attend the wedding normally £350 to £600
Normally the registrar will charge more to attend at a civil venue than they do for you to attend the office, which is why I was so surprised to hear they were charging that much for the registry office! Mine wanted to charge £40 for the office and £490 for the civil venue (hotel)
You have to pay for the civil ceremony room as this covers the cost of the venues license to hold civil ceremonies there, however on average a license to hold civil ceremonies is £1400 for 3 years! If a venue holds a wedding every weekend and charges £500 for the privilege then they make the money back that they have forked out for a license in less than 1 month! it's a joke really!
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CommentAuthorDrunchPunk
Lol Suzi, I'm going to play devil's advocate again! Yes, they make their money back on the licence quickly, but a hotel is in the business of making money! Not only that, they have taxes, cleaning, wages etc that all have to come out of the money they make!
I know, I'm a dreadful cog of the capitalist machine, but these places aren't in the business of weddings just because they like cake :)
CommentAuthorSuzi
Ive had a look at the "Kentish wedding ceremonies" and I can not believe that they don't offer the same as normal registry offices! I noticed the fee for midweek was £386! Unbelievable!!
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CommentAuthorDrunchPunk
What on earth IS a 'Kentish' ceremony anyhow?
CommentAuthorSuzi
LOL I know what your saying Drunch.. but they are making back £76,600 over three years and that is just one wedding a week, you can guarantee they have more than one wedding a week. My venue is having 2 on the day I am getting married! It is still a very overpriced business! x
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CommentAuthorSuzi
I wish I knew what "Kentish ceremony" was lol.. don't know why they have to be so different to the rest of the country!!
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CommentAuthorohfiddles
i dont really know. i just looked on there website and the fees on there are cheaper than what i was quoted. right tomorrow liz (tigerlilly) is coming round with her registry office pack and i am gonna sort this out. i dont like feeling confused. youd think i would get used to it the amount it happens lol. Thanks ladies xxxx
CommentAuthorDrunchPunk
Oh yeah, it's overpriced, I agree with you there! :) But we still pay it, so they'll charge it! They're not going to drop prices out of the goodness of their hearts :) Maybe we brides-to-be should start a revolution!
CommentAuthormrs pinkalice
the marriage is obviously the most important part of the day, but it is still a rip off the price that most registry offices charge. the money doesnt go towards admin, maitenance etc as the registry offices are run by local councils which are funded by taxes
CommentAuthorDrunchPunk
They might be run by the local council, but I'd be a bit p*ssed off if I thought my council tax was funding the weddings of local people instead of the police and fire service, wouldn't you?!
CommentAuthorSuzi
Damn right!!!
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CommentAuthormrs pinkalice
even so, it doesnt cost them £460 for 20 mintutes of their time!
CommentAuthorLucie
wikipedia has let me down for the first time ever. Looked up kentish wedding to see what was different form a wedding else where but nothing! Kent council seem to have spent more money on their website than Cheshire, Wrexham or Flintshire which is where i'm looking but i'm still none the wiser as to what makes a Kentish ceremeny different to any other!!!
