Marriage and Civil Ceremonies

How to arrange a Ceremony in West Lothian

Following the most recent updates by the Scottish Government on marriage ceremonies, please see the CURRENT guidelines below:

Marriage and Civil Partnership Ceremonies at West Lothian Marriage Offices - From 17th May 2021

• A maximum number of 15 people may attend a ceremony within our Livingston Office

• A maximum number of 10 in the Bathgate Office due to the size of the rooms and taking social distancing into account.  

• The maximum figure encompasses all those at the ceremony, including Registrar, children, carer's supporting an attendee and photographers.

• Please speak to your local Registration Office for current Level 2 guidelines on numbers of guests up to 17 May 2021.

PLEASE NOTE: Rules on face coverings

The wearing of face coverings will be compulsory at our Bathgate and Livingston Registration Offices.

Everyone attending an indoor marriage or civil partnership service in a place of worship or wedding venue will be required by law to wear a face covering unless exempt under existing regulations. However, the couple being married will be exempt from this requirement during the ceremony itself provided that there is a distance of at least 2 metres between you and the guests. 

In addition, children under the age of 5 are not required to wear a face covering.

• To minimise the chance of exposure to COVID-19, we advise that any potential participant in a ceremony or other attendee who has symptoms or is self-isolating should not attend

• If either party, the witnesses or anyone else attending the ceremony shows clear symptoms of COVID-19 on the day, the marriage or civil partnership should not go ahead

• Any person who is shielding should continue to follow Scottish Government guidance on shielding

• Any person who becomes unwell with symptoms of COVID-19 should be sent home, and advised to follow guidance on what to do when you develop symptoms

• Attendees should continue to practice good hand and cough hygiene (including the handling of rings and other objects, such as those associated with hand-fasting, and so on)

• Face coverings MUST be worn as a precautionary measure by parties, witnesses and guests at an indoor ceremony.

• the ceremony or registration should be concluded in the shortest reasonable time. The content of a ceremony or registration should be limited as far as reasonably possible to the elements required for the marriage or civil partnership to be validly constituted under the law of Scotland

• For the purpose of Track and Trace you will be required to provide/confirm Name and Contact details when arriving at the venue.

How much notice do we need to give?

You can submit your Marriage Notices between 29 days and 3 months prior to your wedding however, we are requesting all documents 10-12 weeks prior to your ceremony.

Where do I hand in my paperwork?

Please call our offices to book an appointment to submit marriage paperwork. Livingston Office can be contacted on 01506 281898 and Bathgate Office is 01506 282916. We request that only 1 person attends the appointment to keep the number of people in the office at a minimum.

If your wedding ceremony is being held in the Bathgate Registration Office, you can submit your marriage paperwork to the following address-

Bathgate Office cannot accept any marriage paperwork for weddings outside the Office.If you have any concerns or queries regarding the information above, please don't hesitate to contact our Registration team who will be happy to help.