How to legally get married in Ireland

Getting legally married in Ireland is straightforward, but it has one hard deadline that catches couples out.

The three-month notice

You must give the HSE Civil Registration Service at least three months' notice of your intention to marry. Both of you must attend the appointment in person, at a registration office, with photo ID and PPS numbers. There is a €200 fee.

Appointments in Dublin, Cork and Galway commonly book out two to four months ahead. Book the appointment as soon as you have a date, before the dress, before the flowers.

At that appointment you receive a Marriage Registration Form (MRF). Without it, the ceremony cannot legally proceed. It must be present on the day.

Who can legally marry you

Only a registered solemniser can. That includes:

• Catholic priests and Church of Ireland ministers
• Registrars (at a registry office or an approved venue)
• Registered humanist and spiritualist celebrants
• Registered solemnisers of other faiths

A celebrant who is not a registered solemniser can run a beautiful, fully personalised ceremony, but you are not legally married by it. Couples in this position sign at a registry office separately, usually a few days before.

Ask any celebrant directly: "Are you on the HSE register of solemnisers?" The register is public and searchable.

Venue requirements, and the outdoor question

This is the detail couples most often get wrong, so read it carefully.

A civil ceremony, the kind a state registrar performs, must be held indoors, in a registry office or in a venue the registration service has approved, and the room must be open to the public. It can only take place Monday to Friday. Even at a licensed venue, a registrar cannot marry you in the open air, and cannot marry you at a weekend.

If you want to marry outdoors, or on a Saturday, your route is a registered secular or humanist solemniser rather than a registrar. A registered celebrant can legally solemnise a wedding almost anywhere, a courtyard, a beach, a walled garden, on any day. This is the single most useful thing to know about ceremony logistics in Ireland, and it is why so many couples use a humanist solemniser.

Either way, confirm the specifics with the venue and the solemniser rather than assuming.

On the day

You need:

• The Marriage Registration Form
• Two witnesses over eighteen
• Both of you, obviously

Afterwards the signed MRF goes back to a registration office within one month, and you can then order civil marriage certificates, get three; banks, passport offices and insurers all want originals.

If one of you is not an Irish or EU citizen

Additional documentation applies and the process takes longer. Contact the Civil Registration Service early, six months out is not too soon.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Confirm details with the HSE Civil Registration Service.