The following information is, for the most part, taken from the official Government website; HERE
If you would like information about Getting Married in Ireland - please contact us directly via email: romy@abeautifulceremony.ie
Every couple wanting to be legally married in the Republic of Ireland, must first contact the Government agency; Heath Service Executive (HSE), Civil Registration Service.
The HSE must be contacted to lodge the couples' "Notification of Intent to Marry" at a pre-arranged appointment. The Notification must be lodged no less than 3-months prior to the intended date of marriage.
You must give notice to an HSE Registration office. This applies to all civil, religious and secular marriages.
You can book an appointment with the HSE online via their website HERE or look up individual offices around the country and call them to book directly HERE Both parties of the couple must attend the in-person meeting with the HSE representative.
**NB: If there is some reason why you cannot attend to the appointment in person (if you live overseas, or are in hospital etc) - you can request to the HSE to lodge your application "via post". Which basically means, via email. Please see our other blog post for Destination Wedding in Ireland
When you have contacted the HSE, a Registrar will send to you a list of supporting documents which you must provide to them during your appointment. This will include ID, proof of address, Birth Certificate etc.. You will also be required to complete a "Data Capture Form" . This document requires information such as your full names, addresses, family names, Witness names, and (in regards to the ceremony itself) if the ceremony will be Religious/Secular or Civil, the date of the ceremony, venue details, and the name of the person performing the ceremony.
Once you have gathered all the required supporting documentation, you will attend the Notification appointment at an HSE Registration office. The HSE Registrar will work through your documentation and make a decision as to your approval to be legally married. Once approval has been made, you will be given a document which is to be taken to the person performing your ceremony. This documentation; MRF (Marriage Registration Form), is the actual document which will be signed during your ceremony.
If you have chosen to have a Civil marriage ceremony (this means that an HSE Registrar will be performing your ceremony), you will not receive the MRF document - as the Registrar will hold this for you until the day of the ceremony.
If you have given your Notification of Intent to Marry - via Post (email) - you still must ensure that all paperwork is sent to the HSE office in advance of 3-months prior to your proposed wedding ceremony. You will also still be required to have an in-person meeting in the HSE office. This meeting must be done no less than 5 working days prior to your wedding date.
For couples who are living outside of the Republic of Ireland, this must be taken into consideration when you are planning your travel to come to Ireland for the wedding. DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED As mentioned above, there are certain documents which are required by the couple to give to the HSE Registrar when you lodge your Notification of Intent to Marry.
One of the following is required by every person giving notice;
- Passport
- Refugee / Asylum card issued by the Dept of Justice & Equality
- National Identity card from an EU country, accepting them as a travel document
Photo ID documents MUST be in date.
You will also need;
- Birth Certificate
- Proof of address (dated within last 3 months)
- PPS number
HAVING YOUR LEGAL MARRIAGE CEREMONY WITH ROMY or GABRIELLE
Please read all of the above information regarding contacting the HSE office to start your Notification of Intent to Marry process.
If you are having a legal marriage ceremony with ourselves, the above process MUST be completed.
It is up to yourselves to make arrangements directly with the HSE office, and make any payments for their fee's directly with them.
If you do not complete the Notification of Intent to Marry process with the HSE, we cannot perform a legal marriage ceremony - as you must get the legal paperwork from the HSE for yourselves, your witnesses & ourselves to sign during your marriage ceremony.
Capture of Data form = when completing this form, it will ask you the following questions;
"Form of proposed Ceremony" = for a ceremony with Romy or Gabrielle, please tick "Religious/Secular"
"Name of Solemniser/address" = please check directly with Romy or Gabrielle for details
As always, any questions, please contact us directly and we will help as much as possible.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
If any documents are not in English - then a translation must be provided.
If either party does not speak English - then you must have a Interpretor at your Notification appointment. You must ensure that you inform the HSE officer prior to the appointment.
If an Interpretor is used during the Notification appointment - then they must also be used at the marriage ceremony (if being held with an HSE Registrar - or a Solemniser who cannot translate the legal declarations to your spoken language)
There has recently been a change in some of the paperwork requirements for people who were either born outside of the Republic of Ireland, or for any person who is or was living outside of Ireland.
You might find some old information on these online - so I want to mention them here, just to ensure you are clear with what you need.... or don't need to do;
An "Apostille Stamp" - this was used to authenticate mostly Birth Certificates which were issued by any foreign country. The Apostille Stamp is NO LONGER REQUIRED.
Letter of Freedom - in reference to the HSE Notification process, this document was requested for any person who is or was living outside of Ireland prior to the marriage. The "letter" was an official statement to declare that the person was not already legally married in the country of residence. The Letter of Freedom is NO LONGER REQUIRED
** Just a little note on the Letter of Freedom (as this one is nice and confusing!) - there is another Letter of Freedom, which might that you get ONLY if you are getting married in the Catholic church. A Priest might request this of the couple for their own paperwork process. This type of Letter of Freedom is nothing to do with the LEGAL, HSE process. It just can be confusing as it is called the same name.
If you have any questions on any of the information above - please contact us directly, and we can talk you through requirements.
