Here at The Great Hall at Mains, we provide an exclusive setting in which to celebrate some of the most memorable moments in your life.

Civil Partnerships

A Civil Partnership ceremony is a formal ceremony that celebrates a couple’s commitment to each other and is an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate that relationship with family and friends. It is a wonderful opportunity to capture the essence of your relationship and choose promises that have a special meaning for you both.

A Civil Partnership is a legal commitment, which can be formed by two people of the same sex, giving them the ability to obtain legal recognition for their relationship.
Same-sex couples who form a Civil Partnership will be treated equally in a wide range of legal matters, in line with those opposite-sex couples who enter into a marriage.

In order to form a Civil Partnership in the UK, the couple must:

  • Both be of the same sex
  • Not already be in a civil partnership or marriage
  • Be 16 years of age or older*
  • Not be within the prohibited degrees of relationship

*In England and Wales individuals who are aged 16 and 17 will have to obtain the written consent of their parent(s) or legal guardian(s) before forming a Civil Partnership.

If you live in Lancashire you will need to contact the Ceremony Officer for the area in which you live. The Ceremony Officer will arrange an appointment for you at a Lancashire Registration Office to give a formal notice of your intention to form a Civil Partnership. If you live outside Lancashire you will need to contact the Registration Office in the district where you live. The Lancashire Ceremony Officer for The Great Hall At Mains is:

Lancashire North
Kate Thomas
Tel: 01524 65673
Fax: 01524 842285
Email: ceremoniesofficernorth@env.lancscc.gov.uk

Kate is based at the Lancaster Registration Office and deals with marriages and partnership registration/ceremonies in Lancaster, Fleetwood and Wyre.

What happens in the ceremony?
Each ceremony may include all, or some of the following elements, depending on how simple or elaborate you may wish this to be - readings or music can be included before, during and after the ceremony:

  • Introduction and welcome
  • Exchange of declarations and vows to each other
  • Exchange of rings and/or gifts
  • Signing of register
  • Presentation of commemorative certificate
  • Concluding words