Modern and Intimate Register Office opens at the Civic Centre

Congratulations to the four couples who were the first to tie the knot in the newly opened Register Office at the Civic Centre.

Three marriages and a civil partnership were officiated in the licensed Oak Room, an elegant and modern room which is now Reading’s official Register Office since the beginning of March.

It is the perfect size for a registrar to perform statutory marriages and civil partnerships with the couple and their two witnesses. A statutory marriage is a service required for a legal UK wedding if a couple may have had, or then can have, a cultural or religious ceremony. It is also for couples who want to keep things smaller and more economical before a reception with friends and family.

The room will hold the ceremonies at the Civic Centre on the first Tuesday of each month.

All couples who had booked The Registry Office for their union have been individually contacted to be notified of the location change.

Ceremonies will still take place in the Town Hall in Blagrave Street, with a room that can seat anything up to 47 people, to the concert hall that can accommodate 700 people. These are available every day of the week, including the weekends. Town Hall bookings remain unchanged.

There are also approved venues across Reading which are licensed for the purpose of marriages and civil partnerships, including several hotels and Thames Lido. They can be found here.

The Registration Service area in the Civic Centre is a new suite of private rooms with two waiting areas and a self check-in service. There is a dedicated reception area where documents can be collected, submitted, and payments made.

It has its own entrance in Bridge Street. You can find it here.

The Registration Service provides the formal registration of births, deaths, and stillbirths, as well as re-registration of births after marriage of natural parents, or to add the natural father. It also takes notices of marriage and civil partnerships and offers private citizenship ceremonies.

Replacement or additional certificates can also be ordered through the website as well as commemorative certificates and wallets to keep them in to celebrate a marriage or civil partnership, or the arrival of a new baby.

Reading Registration Service registers around 5,000 births, 2,500 deaths and conducts around 400 ceremonies every year. 

For an appointment and more information visit the Life Events section on the Council’s website reading,gov.uk.

The Registration Service is open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, except on a Wednesday when opening is at 10.15am to allow for staff training.

Baby change facilities are only available in the Civic Centre main reception in Simmonds Street.  There is no access to the Civic Centre main reception or any other part of the building if visiting the Registration Service.

Visitor parking is unavailable at the Civic Centre. It is recommended visitors use the nearby parking bays in Fobney Street and the Oracle Shopping Centre or get public transport into the town centre. The nearest blue badge spaces are in St Mary’s Butts.