Find out about how to book registrars to attend your ceremony.
There are four steps to arranging a marriage or civil partnership.
You can book your marriage or civil partnership ceremony at the Civic Hall or licensed venue, up to three years before your ceremony date.
To make a booking you will need to pay a non-refundable administration fee.
Paying for your ceremony
All ceremony fees must be paid within 14 days of giving notice. Please call 0113 222 4408 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, except Wednesdays when we are open from 10am) to make your payment by credit or debit card.
Ceremony fees are subject to change and the fee payable will be that which is in force at the time of your ceremony.
If we do not receive your payment by the due date we may have to release your ceremony appointment to other customers.
Provisional bookings
You can make a provisional booking up to three years in advance if you pay a booking administration fee. If you change your provisional booking you will need to pay a new administration fee.
You will both need to give notice of marriage or civil partnership and pay the full ceremony fee in order to confirm the booking.
If you are booking your ceremony at an approved premises or you need a registrar to register your ceremony at a religious building you must first ensure that the registrar is available before you confirm any other arrangements.
Please call 0113 222 4408 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, except Wednesdays when we are open from 10am) to make a provisional ceremony booking.
Declaratory and contracting words
In order for you to be legally married, the declaratory and contracting words must form part of your marriage ceremony. There are alternatives to the traditional declaratory and contracting words, which can be used to make the marriage ceremony shorter, or to help in cases where saying the full versions may be difficult for either of you. You must choose one selection from each of the options below. Those shown as Option 1 are the traditional forms of the Declaratory and Contracting words.
A - First declaration
Option:
- “I do solemnly declare that I know not of any lawful impediment why I ….... may not be joined in matrimony to ……..”
- “I declare that I know of no legal reason why I ………… may not be joined in marriage to ……..”
- by replying “I am” to the question “Are you ………. free lawfully to marry ………..?”
B - Second declaration
Option:
- “I call upon these persons here present to witness that I ….... do take thee …….. to be my lawful wedded husband/wife”
- “I ……. take you ……….. to be my wedded husband/wife”
- “I ……. take thee ……….. to be my wedded husband/wife?”
You may choose any combination from list A and B. Please state your choice on your ceremony checklist when returning it to the Ceremonies team at
register.headoffice@leeds.gov.uk.
Information we may collect about you
The council has a statutory duty to register births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships and to administer citizenship services on behalf of the Home Office. Your information will only be used to assist us with your registration appointment and/or ceremony or your copy certificate application. We will not share this information with anyone else unless we are required to do so by law.
Please see our privacy policy for further information on how we process your personal data.
Summer ceremonies at Leeds Civic Hall
Concerts are held annually on Millenium Square during July and August.
To avoid noise disturbance, ceremonies will take place in the Civic Hall Conference room (60 guests) on the following dates:
2025
- Saturday 19 April (Vaisakhi festival)
- Saturday 5 July
- Saturday 12 July
- Saturday 19 July
- Saturday 26 July
- Saturday 2 August
The West room and Banquet Hall will not be available on these dates.
Cancelling a ceremony
Please note that we would normally only accept requests to cancel or rearrange a ceremony from one of the parties. Requests can be made by phone, by letter or email to
register.headoffice@leeds.gov.uk. We will confirm requests in writing.
We are unable to refund any ceremony fees where the ceremony is cancelled within 28 days (four weeks) of the ceremony taking place. Ceremonies cancelled between 56 days (eight weeks) and 28 days (four weeks) of the ceremony date will incur a fee equivalent to 50% of the ceremony fee.
Where is a ceremony is re–scheduled during the above timescales and is then subsequently cancelled, the cancellation policy will be applied against the date the ceremony was re–scheduled, not the date it was cancelled.
No refunds can be made where no notice of cancellation or non attendance is received up to the time of the ceremony. Provisional booking administration fees cannot be refunded.
Outside ceremonies
A number of our Licenced venues are able to accommodate Outside ceremonies, for example on a terrace or in a garden. The legal part of the ceremony must still be held inside the licenced room but this can be easily included as part of your ceremony arrangements.
Check whether your venue can offer this service and contact us for more information or to make a booking. You will also need to attend a pre-ceremony meeting with the registrar to confirm arrangements for your ceremony. There is an additional fee payable for this service.
Celebratory ceremony packages
A celebratory ceremony can be held in any location (subject to a health and safety assessment) and follows a short legal ceremony at Leeds Civic Hall, on the same day or previous date. Our registrars will perform both ceremonies so there is no need to involve other celebrants. Contact us for more information or to make a booking.
Marriage certificates
Marriage certificates will not be issued on the day, they will be sent to you by post after the event.
