Newcastle Castle is an iconic, spectacular & magical wedding venue. It is where the story of Newcastle began...let it be the beginning of your Story, Your Love, Your Future:
Built at the same time as New York City’s Rockefeller Centre, The Vermont Hotel in Newcastle is an elegant & timeless licensed wedding venue. An impressive Art Deco building discreetly hidden in the Heart of the City, it is a jewel like no other.
Backworth Hall provides a truly magnificent backdrop for your wedding day. With a sweeping staircase and a magnificent function room looking out across the garden, there are plenty of photo opportunities and places for you to explore.
Wedding venue in the heart of Newcastle. The County Hotel holds a ceremony licence and has enough accommodation for all of your wedding guests.
A beautiful 13th century friary in the heart of Newcastle with heaps of character and an award winning menu.
All you need from a wedding venue, The Grand Hotel is a beautiful venue with a license for civil ceremonies in Tynemouth. Formerly a summer residence for Royalty, The Grand Hotel welcomes you on your special day.
Cool, quirky and welcoming, there is plenty of room to get loved up in our romantic hideaway – As You Like It. Licensed for Ceremonies and available for Wedding Breakfast and Wedding Receptions in Jesmond.
This long-established hotel is well known for its friendly staff and warm welcome. With plenty of free parking, the hotel has an established restaurant called Traders, and a contemporary lounge and bar area, serving drinks and light snacks.
Set alongside the Northumbrian sea, at Whitley Bay is this iconic wedding venue. Offering your and your guests a sense of Grandeur. With stunning sea views, beach access, we offer you the perfect wedding location.
How is a venue licensed for civil ceremonies? Find out why civil ceremony licensed venues are so popular.
If you want a legally-binding wedding ceremony in Tyne and Wear with no religious affiliation, and you’re getting married in England or Wales, then a civil ceremony is the best match for you. You can either get married in a register office, or you can have a civil ceremony at an approved wedding venue. To be an approved civil ceremony venue, wedding venues need to apply for a civil ceremony license.
There are hundreds of wedding venues in Tyne and Wear with a civil ceremony license, but it’s important to check that your dream venue has one if you’re wanting a legally-binding ceremony. The alternative is marrying in a humanist or spiritual ceremony, which will allow you to marry in any venue (or in an unlicensed part of an otherwise licensed venue, such as a garden or private beach), but will need to be followed by a legal civil ceremony in a register office at another date.
Have questions about your civil ceremony wedding venue? Take a look at our FAQ below…
There's many different types of venue that can be licensed for civil ceremonies. Anything from castles and hotels to barns and even unique venues such as zoo's! If they’re on our civil ceremony venue list, then you can legally marry there. However, don’t assume that more traditional venues always have a civil ceremony license. It costs wedding venues money to apply for a license, so some just host humanist or spiritual ceremonies, or simply host wedding receptions rather than ceremonies.
Every venue in Tyne and Wear is assessed and researched before they are approved for civil ceremonies. This is done by the local council in which the venue is based. This includes whether or not they’re in a safe and reasonable state for members of the public, and if they meet fire safety regulations. If you're wanting to have your wedding in a private home or in gardens, you will be unable to do this. The venue needs to be open to the public regularly. If you’re hoping to marry on private land, in a back garden or a large home that isn’t available to the public, you’ll need to hold your legal ceremony in a register office instead.
If you want to tie the knot in an outdoor wedding ceremony, then your wedding venue will need a separate civil ceremony license for this. If you're wanting to marry outside, it will need to be under a permanent structure, unlike a floral arch or an open beach setting. Don’t presume that any permanent fixture in a wedding venue’s garden will be automatically covered by a civil ceremony license. Venues need to purchase licenses for separate structures. If you want to know if you can get married in a garden, search our ‘Outdoor wedding ceremony’ filter or simply enquire with your chosen wedding venue in Tyne and Wear.
The law does not consider marquees to be permanent structures, even ones that are up all year round. One way to get around this is to have your ceremony over the threshold of a doorway. This way, your guests can be seated in the marquee while you are technically indoors.
A civil wedding ceremony has certain legal requirements. You must have two witnesses over the age of 18, and you will need to exchange contractual words of marriage. Ask your chosen registrar about what you need to say during your civil ceremony and then you can work around this to write your own vowed and promises to your partner. Find an abundance of venues licensed for civil ceremonies in Tyne and Wear on Guides for Brides.
By law a civil ceremony cannot include any religious element, including readings or music. You also cannot hold a civil ceremony in a religious building in Tyne and Wear. If you would like to include religion in some way, you can have a religious blessing after your civil ceremony.
If you wish to get married in Scotland, there's many more venues that you can do this is. This is because in Scotland, humanist ceremonies are legally binding and in a humanist ceremony there's a lot more flexibility on what you and your partner can say. Unlike civil ceremonies, humanist weddings do not require specific wording, or for the ceremony to be under a permanent structure. You can also include religious elements in your humanist ceremony. If you’re a bride in Scotland, ask your wedding venue about what kind of ceremony would work best for you.
Elaine has over 8 years of experience working with wedding venues, and advises many of the top hotel and venue brands on their wedding marketing. She has a deep understanding of statistics that can accurately predict the online populaity of a particular venue and she is happy to share that knowledge with wedding couples and venues.
