You must be the proprietor or trustee of a commercial business to apply to hold weddings and civil partnerships. If you have a commercial business in the BCP area and wish to apply, we’d love to hear from you.
You apply to us for a 'grant of approval' to hold civil marriages and civil partnerships.
The license fee is £1,750 and covers a period of 3 years. You can apply to renew your grant of approval if it expires in less than a year.
If you would like an informal chat before applying please get in touch with us.
Conditions
To license your venue it is necessary to identify a specific room or rooms where weddings and civil partnerships will take place. You can have outside space where weddings and civil partnerships will take place if both the following apply:
- you also identify a specific room or rooms inside
- the outdoor space is within the grounds of the building
Ensure the premises have all the necessary fire and safety provisions. Keep the premises 'seemly and dignified' and ensure that it will be regularly available for marriages and civil partnerships. This is at our discretion.
You must:
- appoint a responsible person, who will ensure that all the conditions of the licence are adhered to
- give this person’s details to us on application
- inform us if the person’s details change
- inform us of any changes to the premises, e.g. name or layout
- ensure that the registrar has approved all wedding and civil partnership arrangements before the proceedings take place
- ensure your premises can be inspected at reasonable times
- ensure that there is no food or alcoholic drinks sold or consumed in the specified area one hour before and during the proceedings
- display a notice at every public entrance with directions to the exact location
- ensure that the proceedings are freely open and accessible to the public
- provide a car parking space nearby for the registrars
How to apply
Send the following to us:
- details of yourself and your venue
- a plan of the building showing the inside room or rooms where ceremonies will be held, and the boundaries of the grounds where outdoor ceremonies can be held, if applicable
- a copy of your public liability insurance certificate
A fee will need to be paid and the superintendent registrar will inspect the premises.
Apply using the approved premises application form.
Public Notices for Current Licence Applications
New applications to become an approved venue are displayed for a minimum of 21 days on our public notices for current licence applications page.
Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council, which is responsible for the registration of births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships within the district, hereby gives notice that the following venues have applied to be approved premises for the solemnisation of civil marriages, pursuant to Section 26(1)(bb) of the Marriage Act 1949, civil partnerships under Section A(a) of the Civil Partnership 2005 Act and Marriage (same Sex Couples) Act 2013. Any objection concerning the proposed grant of approval for the premises below should be sent in writing in the first instance to the superintendent registrar, Kathy Andrews.
Penalties
You may lose your grant of approval if you do not follow these requirements, or if the superintendent registrar feels that your venue is no longer appropriate.