Marriage Licence & Ceremony
The choice of the marriage ritual that is to bind you together is a very personal one. We pride ourselves in truly allowing you to have the type of ceremony you want. We have a marriage licence to legally marry in two places and also have several outdoor locations popularly used for alternative weddings. We specialise in Eco-Weddings and have helped arrange a diversity of outdoor ceremonies and rituals tailored to personal beliefs and tastes.
We have created our various wedding ceremoney settings, both indoor and outdoor, for you to use and personalise as you wish. As a group residential wedding venue you can arrive with your friends and family a good time before the wedding to decorate and plan all the details of the ceremony.
Getting married - the legal bit
We have a marriage licence that covers the sitting room and library in the house (about 20 people can fit into the sitting room). The license also covers our renovated barn which accommodates seventy people so if you have a lot of guests you may decide to use the barn.
Whilst the legal marriage service must by law be held indoors, weather permitting there's a beautiful glade under the oldest oak tree in the forest where more personalised wedding ceremonies have been held. We are in contact with an expert in ancient marriage rite who is happy to advise on and/or perform the ceremony. We offer the cider barn and the house as a 'package' together. You may choose to stay on for a while after the wedding with your family and best friends rather than rushing off immediately on your honeymoon, or better again choose to have your honeymoon at Middle Coombe Farm cocooned in love.
Tiverton Registration Office Tel no: 01884 252913/0845 155 1002
(please note once you have booked your wedding date at Middle Coombe Farm you also need to book the Registrar ASAP)
Local Celebrants:
Alison Orchard, tel:01363 774971, mobile tel:07734 154607
Jacquie Brown Tel: 01872 553138
(please note you will also need the Registrar to perform the legal part )
Types of wedding ceremony
You have a few options when it comes to getting legally married: you can be married by registrar in the house / barn at Middle Coombe Farm or in our local registry office in Tiverton or even your own local registry office where you live, or by a priest in a church etc. In addition you might choose to have an 'alternative' ceremony. We cater for this in our woods or the stone circle in the field below the cider barn.
An alternative wedding ceremony
A personalised ceremony, crafted and in line with your own beliefs can mean a lot more to some people than the 'standard' ceremony provided by the registrar.
Your ceremony might be as simple as standing before your close family and friends and proclaiming your love and commitment to each other, or you might want to incorporate symbolic elements to your ceremony such as drinking from the same cup. Some ceremonies also involve participation from your guests - for example they might all agree to support your union in the future.
There are a number of traditional ceremonies which you might use or take inspiration from. Handfasting is an English marriage ceremony which is gaining popularity at the moment. Your hands are symbolically tied together with ribbons, hence the phrase 'tying the knot'. There are also ceremonies and practices from other countries that you might like to look at.
The point is that it is personal and meaningful to you both. Of course our house and barn are both licensed wedding venues so you can get legally married by registrar as well as completing your own personal ceremony.
We would advise that if you do have a handfasting or similar 'alternative' service that you choose a reliable master of ceremonies to guide you and your guests through the service. It is also a good idea to practise the service through a few times so you both know what to expect. This will also give you an idea of how long the wedding service will be as this is an important consideration for your timings during your festive day of celebrations.
