To-do List

Book the Venue – Once you’ve found your dream location (even if its abroad) and placed a provisional booking…..

Book The Registrar – It is your responsibility to make sure that you have booked and paid the necessary fees to both the venue and the Registrar. They will then be able to advise you about what you need to do next.

‘Give Notice’ – This confirms your booking, and without both of you doing this, the partnership cannot be formed. Notice can be given upto 1 year in advance of the ceremony date and a
minimum of 16 days before.

The Ceremony – Start to think about the ceremony, what you want to happen, and what you want to include – remember its ‘Your Ceremony and Your Choice’. Try and arrange to either meet or speak with a member of the Your Ceremony Team to discuss your ceremony – remember you are all part of the same team making sure your day is exactly what you want it to be.

Witnesses – you will need two people (either friends and/ or family) to sign the Schedule with you. They will need to be present throughout the ceremony and be able to understand the ceremony. Should you need any further advice, please speak to your Registrar.

Passports - if after your Ceremony, either of you wish to change your surname to that of your partner, then one of the only documents that you can change in advance of the big day itself is your passport. this can be amended upto 3 months in advance of your ceremony. you will need to complete a form
(PD2), you can get these:

• By downloading them as PDF files from
  www.direct.gov.uk/passports
• From Post Office branches that offer the Check & Send service
• From any Regional Passport Office
• By calling the IPS Passport Adviceline 0300 222 0000 to get them sent out to you

The form should be completed partly by you and partly by the person who is to conduct the ceremony. The leaflet (PD1) explains this in more detail.

What you must also remember of course, is that any travel plans you make for immediately after the ceremony will need to be in the name that is in your passport.

Additional Certificates – once your partnership has been formed, you will be presented with your Civil Partnership certificate. Should you require additional copies please speak to your Registrar prior to the day of the ceremony. Extra copies will help you if you are going to change your name after the ceremony and need to send your Civil Partnership certificate to the various organisations where you wish your new name to be used. The more copies you have means that you do not have to wait for your one certificate to come back before sending it out to tell someone else about your new name!