Wedding advice please?!?

Question

Hi, this may sound odd, but me & my partner plan to marry next year. Problem is... I don't want a church wedding. No offence to people who only want church weddings. I have never step'd foot in a church & think it's taking the micky doing so just to get married. Thats just my opinion though so please no one take offence.

I would love to find a lovely venue in the North of Manchester where I live, with a huge area of grass space that would hold a marquee tent.

Obviously a priest wouldn't marry us out of a church. I have herd of people who have got married at venues other than registry offices.

What are the name of them who marry you out of a church?

Does anyone have any information they can offer?

Does anyone know any nice venues in the north area of Manchester with large area's of grass at the back?

Any advice would be great please!!!

Answer 1

Maybe a country house like Tatton Park? It's not exactly Manchester, but it's not too far away. However I don't know if they are licensed to do weddings. But I'm sure there will be a country house in our area that does weddings.

Answer 2

I don't know the specific marriage laws in England, but a person who performs a wedding is called an officiant.

I found this website that lists wedding officiants and ministers in England.  A priest can't marry you outside a church but most ministers can.  Officiants here in the US can be registered with the state to perform marriages and are not necessarily religious clergy.

http://www.weddingguideuk.com/articles/l...

These may also help:

http://www.topweddingsites.co.uk/clergy-...

http://www.wedding-ministers.net/uk/

Answer 3

The person performing the ceremony is called an officiant.  In my state you can get a temporary license so you can perform the ceremony.  If that's possible where you live, maybe you want to have a friend act as the minister.  My husband's friend since grade school married us, and it was so much more personal and meaningful than just hiring someone.

Have you googled "wedding venues Manchester" to see what you get?  Other than a hotel, park or a private estate I can't think of much that would have the grassy area you need.  You also have to think about the grassy area--are you going to haul chairs down there for your guests to sit on?  Hauling tables, chairs, tent, linens, china, liquor etc is a HUGE undertaking, so be prepared for it to be expensive.  

You need to really think hard about what you want, because every venue is going to have rules about what you can do and what you can't, and other things may just turn out to be cost prohibitive.  Getting married away from a church or hotel means you have to put the logistics before the ceremony.