Differences from usual
The ceremonial registration of a marriage differs from the usual painting. The ceremony involves the presence of guests, music and certain outfits. Beautiful words of wishes are read to the newlyweds.
If a simple painting lasts no more than 15 minutes, then a formal ceremony takes about half an hour .
The format of the ceremony, formal and solemn, is indicated when submitting an application. Important! The ceremonial registration of marriage is carried out only on Friday and Saturday.
Certificates are issued after a series of festive procedures. Only the presence of this document makes the marriage legal. It is necessary to confirm the fact of marriage. Without a marriage certificate, a wedding in a church is impossible.
State registration of marriage is carried out by any civil registry office at the choice of the bride and groom on the basis of their jointly submitted application.
Rules for registering marriage at the registry office
It is very important that the newlyweds have their passports with them on their wedding day. Without them, marriage is impossible.
After providing documents confirming the identities of the spouses, the registry office employee checks the data and once again checks with them whether they really agree to this step. He also specifies the surnames of the spouses, which will be assigned to them after the completion of the marriage procedure.
After all checks, the registry office employee begins to prepare the relevant documents:
- first of all, he draws up a marriage certificate, which is made in two, completely identical copies and does not contain data that differs from those included in the application;
- then he presents the document for signature to the bride and groom, who, after signing it, will be declared husband and wife;
- Based on the previously compiled registration record, the specialist draws up a Marriage Certificate.
After completing all the above procedures, the marriage is considered formalized.
Briefly about the timing, choice of date and time
According to the existing law, a union can be registered only after the expiration of thirty days from the date of writing the application.
The period can be shortened only for good reasons, such as:
- pregnant woman;
- birth of a child;
- the presence of a serious threat to the life of one of the parties entering into marriage;
- other reasons (departure for compulsory service, departure on a business trip).
In order to definitely get married on the desired day, you must contact the relevant registry office in advance, even before drawing up the application, and sign up for that date.
Each institution has a waiting list, where they enter the details of newlyweds who want to get married on a given day at their discretion. Here you can also select the desired time.
How is the painting done?
After arriving at the registry office, the bride and groom give their passports to an employee of the institution and wait for a call for a certain period of time.
A stamp is placed on the corresponding pages of the passports indicating the exact time, date and place of registration of the marriage. After this, the couple is asked to put their signatures in a special registration journal.
About changing your last name
When drawing up an application for marriage, the couple must decide what surname each of them will have after the registration.
Husband and wife can keep their last names, change their own to their partner's last name, or add it to their own.
As a rule, if you choose to change your last name, your passport must be exchanged.
This process is delayed for a period of thirty days. If, within a month, the party who wished to change the surname after marriage does not return the passport in exchange, then it automatically becomes invalid. In addition, you will still have to pay a fine for this.
Documentation
To register a marriage in a solemn format, certain documents are required:
- passports of the parties;
- application for young people - it can be filled out either directly at the registry office or online;
- receipt of payment of state duty - one of the future spouses can pay for the services;
- pregnancy certificate - if necessary, legalize the relationship in a short time;
- consent of parents or guardianship authorities - if one or both newlyweds have not reached the legal age for marriage;
- divorce certificate – if we are talking about second and subsequent marriages.
Russian legislation sets the minimum age for marriage at 18 years, but exceptions are provided , for example, the pregnancy of the bride allows for a reduction in the return qualification of future spouses.
The couple appears at the registry office to receive a certificate by a certain date, but not earlier than 30 days from the date of submission of the relevant documents. For valid reasons, which include pregnancy, the birth of a child, the presence of a threat to the life or health of those entering into marriage, or conscription for military service, the process can be accelerated. In each case, additional documents will be required, for example, in case of pregnancy - a certificate from a doctor, in case of conscription - a summons from the military registration and enlistment office.
Non-solemn registration of marriage with a citizen of another state
If one of the newlyweds is a foreign citizen, then non-celebratory marriage registration is often chosen in order to truly celebrate the wedding in his homeland.
What documents are required
The procedure for marrying a foreigner is the same, regardless of whether we are talking about a citizen of a foreign country or the CIS.
The list of documents for a citizen of another state is as follows:
- identification document;
- certificate of divorce from a previous marriage, if there was one;
- a certificate of marital status issued in the country of which he is a citizen.
Documents must be valid in Russia, translated into Russian and certified by a Russian notary.
Features of the ceremony
A citizen of any state who wishes to get married in Russia is subject to the laws of the Russian Federation, and marriage is concluded only in the manner established by local legislation.
If the newlywed is already married, and the laws of his native country allow polygamy, he still will not be able to get married in Russia. The same applies to the minimum acceptable age. It is different in different countries, in most regions of Russia it is 18 and older (not counting individual cases).
A marriage with a citizen of the CIS can be concluded in any district registry office, with a citizen of the Baltic countries and foreign countries - only in some branches.
By default, a marriage entered into in the Russian Federation is also valid in other states, unless their legislation provides otherwise.
If the marriage is revealed to be fictitious (the spouses do not live together, do not maintain a joint household, do not communicate with each other and do not provide each other with material support), it will be annulled from the moment of its conclusion. Thus, if the marriage was concluded to accelerate the acquisition of citizenship, citizenship will be revoked.
Price
It is impossible to say unambiguously what amount to prepare for the ceremonial registration. It depends on the wishes of the newlyweds regarding the specifics of the ceremony and on the region.
Only the cost of the state fee is known, which is paid when submitting the application. It is 350 rubles per couple , and it does not matter who pays - the bride or groom.
Important! Some categories of citizens, for example, disabled people, are exempt from paying state duty.
How much do additional services cost?
Employees of a state institution, which is the registry office, do not have the right to charge a fee for holding a ceremony , but companies involved in the professional organization of celebrations often offer their services at wedding palaces.
Their help often turns out to be indispensable, because an independent manager will meet guests and organize their placement in the hall, supervise photo and video shooting, hire musicians and serve the buffet. At the same time, the couple has the opportunity to take all the worries upon themselves and invite their own photographer and operator, as a result of which they can save a lot. On average, the solemn registration of marriage will cost young people from 500 to 3000 rubles.
Some registry offices offer ceremonial registration of marriage in the European style , when the bride is brought into the wedding hall by the father. This ceremony is often accompanied by live music. For obvious reasons, the price of such registration exceeds 2000 rubles.
Separately, we should mention such a service as on-site marriage registration. In this case, the ceremony is held outside the registry office. Employees of the government agency go to the specified place where the newlyweds decided to sign. The cost of such a ceremony starts from 3,000 rubles.
At what age and how many months and days before registration can you submit an application to the registry office?
To choose a wedding day, you need to know how long before the celebration you need to submit an application to the registry office, and it is also important to find out at what age you are allowed to start a family.
At what age can you register a marriage?
Every citizen has the opportunity to enter into a marriage at the age of 18. There is a law that allows you to register a union from the age of 16, but for this you will need to contact the guardianship authorities.
The registry office has the right to accept documents from persons who are not adults at the time of family registration only with approval from the local executive authority.
The registry office accepts applications for marriage registration from minors if the celebration is scheduled after both newlyweds have the opportunity to get married.
How many days in advance do I need to submit an application to the registry office?
The application must be submitted at least 30 days before the expected wedding date. Civil registry office employees can double this period if any documents raise questions in their minds.
How is it going?
Guests and heroes of the occasion must appear at the registry office no later than 20 minutes before the start of the celebration. The couple gives their passports to complete the necessary documents.
Before the ceremony, the newlyweds, together with their witnesses, go to special waiting rooms - the groom's room and the bride's room. Those who came to congratulate the newlyweds are accommodated in the guest room. The organizer clarifies the details of the event for the newlyweds and all those present.
The ceremonial painting in the registry office involves several stages.
Accommodation of guests
Depending on the registry office, two options are possible. In the first case, the organizer lets the guests into the hall, and then the newlyweds enter the ceremony room accompanied by Mendelssohn's march.
In the second scenario, the couple enters the registration hall along with the guests. In this case, those present line up in a column: first the young people, then the witnesses, parents and close relatives, and then the rest of the guests.
The room for the ceremonial registration of marriage is, as a rule, a decorated hall in the Baroque style with a luxurious interior. There may be benches for those present, but more often guests stand during the ceremony.
Exit of the young
The young people, together with the witnesses, approach the manager’s table to the accompaniment of Mendelssohn’s march. This is one of the most exciting stages of the event.
It is important to know:
- the bride should stand to the left of the future spouse;
- the witness is located near the groom, and the witness is located near the bride;
- the newlyweds stop one and a half to two meters from the table for painting and listen to the speech of the registry office employee, answering the questions posed.
Signatures
At the end of the solemn speech, the registrar asks each of the newlyweds whether they agree to be husband and wife. After an affirmative answer, the bride and groom come to the table and sign in the civil register. After the young people, witnesses also leave paintings.
Important! The law does not provide for the mandatory presence of witnesses even at the marriage registration ceremony.
Exchange of rings and stamps in passports
The newlyweds return to their place and exchange wedding rings, which are presented by the manager. The registrar declares the heroes of the occasion husband and wife and specifies what surname the newly-made spouses will bear.
The newlyweds seal their union with a kiss and accept congratulations from the guests. According to tradition, the parents are the first to approach the young spouses, and then the rest of those present.
Newlyweds' first dance
After congratulations, the guests and newlyweds will have their first dance. The musical accompaniment is usually chosen by the manager. It could be a waltz or another slow melody. If desired, the young people can agree and dance to a previously ordered composition.
Some couples take this stage so seriously that they rehearse the first dance in advance and even hire a professional choreographer to help them master the basic steps.
What to wear?
If you invited a photographer to the painting in the registry office without a ceremony, it is preferable to wear, if not a wedding dress, then just a beautiful outfit. Dresses for painting at the registry office may not be white. Choose clothes for photographs that make you look good. If they don’t take pictures, the most ordinary casual ones will do: jeans, T-shirts, sneakers, etc. This is not a formal ceremony, so you are not required to be particularly beautiful.
Buffet
The buffet awaits guests outside the marriage registration hall: in a room specially designated for this purpose or outdoors. You can skip this part of the celebration if immediately after the registry office everyone goes to the banquet hall of the selected restaurant. If there is a long period of time between painting and dinner, guests should be pampered with modest snacks.
Advice! For an outdoor buffet, don't forget to take trash bags. Even on a holiday, you cannot remember the cleanliness of your hometown.
You can entrust the preparation of the buffet to a catering company, but it is cheaper to arrange a small snack yourself. For the buffet you will need symbolic treats: sandwiches, sweets, fruit and champagne. Don't forget that there are often small children among the guests. You should prepare juice or baby champagne for them.
You can place the snack on the hood of the car or on the parapet. There is no need to bring expensive dishes. Disposable cups and plates are fine.
After the buffet reception, the newlyweds go on a festive walk around the city.
Photo session and video shooting
Throughout the ceremony and before it begins, a photographer and videographer capture the most memorable moments. After the painting, the newlyweds become participants in a photo shoot, while the operator continues to film in order to ultimately create a slide show or wedding video as a keepsake of the special day.
Some registry offices have specially equipped rooms for photo sessions. Couples can use this service for an additional fee.
Then the newlyweds and guests take photographs outside the registry office building. The shooting format depends on the preferences of the heroes of the occasion. It is recommended to think in advance about the route of the walk and the places where the shots will be taken. If during the cold season the marriage registration is planned for the afternoon, it is better to organize photography of an autumn or winter wedding before the ceremony, while it is light outside.
There are many options for organizing a photo shoot. Thematic shoots are popular, for which a professional photographer will select the necessary surroundings.
