Are you considering diversifying your business or starting an exciting new business venture?
Would you like to join the exciting and dynamic wedding industry in Cornwall and help make the dreams of over 3000 couples come true?
We are ambitious about promoting Cornwall to be the wedding destination in the South West and supporting the c.£90 million Cornish wedding economy.
If you want to be a part of this, then why not licence your venue to host legal marriages and civil partnerships and become one of our ‘Approved Venues’?
We license venues of all shapes and sizes: from hotels, stately homes and quirky hideaways, to biomes, caverns, campsites and outdoor attractions.
Whether you want to offer smaller weddings or accommodate large numbers of guests, provide the ceremony only or host receptions too, the choice is yours. The minimum amount of people required for a legal wedding ceremony is six people which is made up of the couple, two Registrars and two witnesses.
Once licensed, an approved venue can hold legally binding marriage and civil partnership ceremonies conducted by My Cornwall Wedding Registrars outside in the open air as well as indoors.
A venue licence lasts for three years.
If you choose to become one of our approved venues, we will:
- Connect you with a dedicated Licensing Officer who will be on hand to guide you through the licensing process and remain a support for you and your venue once your licence has been granted.
- Promote your venue through our Find a Venue search listings on our website.
- Include your venue in our My Cornwall Wedding brochure.
- Promote weddings in Cornwall through our social media channels and editorials in national magazines.
- Provide a professional and friendly ceremony team made up of a Celebrant Registrar and a Recording Officer who will carry out bespoke legal weddings at your venue.
Requirements for becoming a Approved Venue
- There must be at least one permanent building or indoor room capable of holding a minimum of six people.
- The venue must be readily available for use by the public for civil ceremonies.
- The venue must have no recent or ongoing religious connections.
- The venue must be readily available for use by the public for civil ceremonies.
- The venue must have undertaken thorough health and safety and fire risk assessments and dealt satisfactorily with any findings.
- The venue must have confirmation from Planning that they are happy for civil ceremonies to be held at the venue - further information can be found here: Planning advice for civil ceremonies.
- There must be two car parking spaces provided for our Ceremony Team for one hour before and for the duration of the ceremony.
- A Responsible Person must be available on the day for one hour before and for the duration of the ceremony.
Who can apply
We can only accept an application to license a venue from the owner, trustee or an authorised person from that venue.
How to apply
Please let us know if you are interested in licensing a venue by either calling 0300 1234 181 (option 3) or emailing AV.Licensing@cornwall.gov.uk
We will send you an application pack and arrange a visit with one of our Licensing Officers. They will meet you at the venue, chat through various options and discuss how to progress forward.
What to submit with your application
- Floor plans highlighting the area/rooms you wish to license.
- Site plan that shows the boundary of the land attached to your venue.
- Fire risk assessment (completed/reviewed within the last 12 months).
- General health and safety risk assessment (completed/reviewed within the last 12 months).
- Confirmation from Planning that weddings/civil ceremonies can be held at your venue.
- The licence fee.
What happens after you have submitted your application
- We will place a public notice on the Registration web page that will run for 21 days.
- We will inform the Fire Officer of your application.
- We will carry out a formal inspection of the areas you wish to licence at your venue.
Once we receive an application, it can take 8-12 weeks before a licence is granted.
Application Forms
If you would like to apply for a civil ceremony licence, please use this application form:
If you would like to renew your civil ceremony licence, please use this application form:
Guidance notes to help complete the application forms are as follows:
Application Form - Guidance Notes
Fees
| 2024/25 | 2025/26 | |
| New Application | £1865.00 | £1980.00 |
| Renewal Application | £1479.00 | £1650.00 |
Regulations Summary
Please note due to legislation the licence cannot be granted unless all the criteria are met.
- Marriage Act 1949
- Civil Partnership Act 2004
- The Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) Regulations 2005
- The Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises)(Amendment) Regulations 2011
- Equality Act 2010
Responsible Person’s Resources
- Responsible Person’s Guidelines - to assist with the management of ceremony arrangements
- Approved Premises marriage notice template - please replace our branding with your own
- Approved Premises civil partnership notice template - please replace our branding with your own