The Common Law Marriage Myth

While we were at the Registration Office giving notice of marriage the other day, A Man spotted this postcard in a display:

Postcard published by Advice Services Alliance. Image from advicenow.org.uk.

I hereby give notice…

Yesterday, A Man and I gave notice of marriage at the Registration Office in Chippenham.  This is one of the legal steps to take if you’re planning a civil marriage ceremony in England or Wales and a similar process exists if you’d like to have a civil partnership.

Your notice of intent to marry has to be publicly displayed for 15 days before the certificate is issued and it is valid for a year after notice has been given.  It cost us £35 each to give notice.  Of course, the Registry Office is only open during office hours, so A Man had to take a couple of hours off.  Luckily, he managed to arrange an appointment for us before I started the new job, so we could go in together.