TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR MARRIAGE OR CIVIL PARTNERSHIP CEREMONIES AT WOLVERHAMPTON CITY COUNCIL VENUES


This Hire is made between you (“the Hirer”) and Wolverhampton City Council (“the Council”)


These Terms and Conditions apply to the Hire of the Venue for a Marriage or Civil Partnership Ceremony and form a binding contract between the Hirer and the Council together with the Marriage or Civil Partnership Booking Form and is known as the “Agreement”.


1.0 INTERPRETATIONS AND DEFINITIONS


Charges means the charges paid by the Hirer to the Council for the Marriage or Civil Partnership Ceremony and any other additional costs as incurred under this Agreement. All Charges are non-refundable once paid.


Hire means the hire of the Licensed Room for a Marriage or Civil Partnership Ceremony by the Hirer from the Council for the payment of the Charges.


Time of Hire means the time and date agreed between the Hirer and the Council for the Marriage or Civil Partnership Ceremony to commence.


Marriage or Civil Partnership Booking Form

means the form upon which all applications for Hire of the Licensed Room for a Marriage or Civil Partnership Ceremony must be made.


Licensed Room means the room at which the Hire shall take place as approved and agreed by the Council.


Venue means the venue at which the Licensed Room is located.


    1. APPLICATIONS FOR HIRE


    2. All applications for Hire of the Licensed Room for a Marriage or Civil Partnership Ceremony must be made using the Marriage or Civil Partnership Booking Form.


    3. The Marriage or Civil Partnership Booking Form must be completed in full and sent to the Council by:


      1. email to weddings@wolverhampton.gov.uk


      2. post to Weddings, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Lichfield Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1DU


        The Council reserves the right to refuse any application without stating its reason for doing so.

    4. Your ceremony booking is accepted on the following conditions:


      1. That no legal impediment to the marriage or civil partnership exists and all legal preliminaries are completed within the statutory time limits.


      2. That any foreign divorce/dissolution papers are accepted by the Registrar General where applicable.


      3. That Home Office permission is granted where applicable.


      4. That all fees falling due are paid in full.


    5. It is the responsibility of the Hirer to ensure that all information provided in the Marriage or Civil Partnership Booking Form is, to their knowledge, true and accurate and shall inform the Council at any time that they become aware of any changes or inaccuracies within the information provided.


    6. The Hirer shall be responsible for:


      1. the payment of the Charges; and


      2. the observance and performance in all respects of the terms and conditions of this Agreement.


    1. THE HIRER’S OBLIGATIONS


    2. The Hirer must.


      1. pay the £100 non-refundable deposit at the time of booking;


      2. pay the remaining Charges a minimum of 6 weeks before the Period of Hire;


      3. pay an amendment fee of £40 on each occasion that details of the booking are changed, including changing the date, time and venue of a ceremony. All details changed at the same time are only subject to one amendment fee. Where applicable, this may require an updated or additional ceremony fee to be paid. It may also be necessary for you to give fresh Notices of Marriage, as these are only specific to your chosen venue and are only valid for one year.


    3. It is the responsibility of the Hirer to ensure that Notice of Marriage is given to the Register Office of the Local Authority serving the area in which the hirer lives. This must be given a minimum of 29 days before the Time of Hire for citizens of the EEA or Switzerland or 70 days for citizens not of the EEA or Switzerland. (For Wolverhampton, please phone 01902 551234).


    4. It is the responsibility of the Hirer to ensure that they and no other person shall in any part of the Venue:

      1. bring any article of any flammable or explosive character, or any article producing an offensive smell, or any oil, electric or gas or other engine;


      2. bring, place or erect any permanent furniture fitting, erection or structure;


      3. place or fix any additional or decorative lighting or any decoration, shrubs, plants or similar things without the prior written consent of the Council;


      4. move furniture or equipment except within the room hired for the requirement;


      5. place nails, screws or other fixing to any part of the Venue or furniture; and


      6. use and release sky lanterns/chinese lanterns.


        The lighting of fires is strictly prohibited at the Venue.


        Confetti must be biodegradable and may only be thrown outside.


    5. Smoking and vaping is prohibited in or around the Venue and it is the responsibility of the Hirer to ensure that this condition is complied with by those attending the Venue in connection with the Hire.


    6. Any music to be played during the ceremony must be provided and played by the Hirer or his/her delegate. (Speakers and an auxiliary cable will be made available at the Venue). A list of track title and artist must be provided to Wolverhampton Weddings one week before the Period of Hire. All music must have no religious content.


    7. Ceremony choices must be returned to Wolverhampton Register Office by post or email a minimum of 6 weeks before the Time of Hire.


    1. THE VENUE


    2. The Licensed Room shall be available for use by the Hirer for 60 minutes prior to the Time of Hire and 60 minutes after the Time of Hire.


    3. The Council shall close the Licensed Room to the public. It should be noted that members of the public may have access to other areas of the Venue.


    4. For reasons of health and safety, comfort and to comply with fire regulations, the number of guests must not exceed the capacity that the Licensed Room is licensed for:


      1. Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Georgian Gallery – 96 guests;


      2. Bantock House Museum, Tractor shed – 100 guests; Drawing Room

        – 25 guests;

      3. Wolverhampton City Archives, Rococo Room – 45 guests;


    1. PARKING OF VEHICLES


    2. Parking facilities will vary between Venues. It is the responsibility of the Hirer to comply with any parking conditions in connection with the Hire of the Venue.


    3. Where parking is available, under no circumstances will the Council accept any responsibility for parking fines, loss of, or damage to, any car or other vehicle which in connection with the function is brought or left at the Venue.


    4. The Hirer shall ensure that no car or other vehicle is allowed to be parked in any unauthorised position and that any instructions given by any of the Council’s officers with regard to parking of vehicles are strictly observed.


    1. LIABILITY


    2. The City of Wolverhampton Council Registrar Service and the Venue will not accept liability for:


      1. Any delay or loss caused by your (or any of your guests’) late or non- arrival. The Registrars attending your ceremony have ceremonies to administer throughout the day and as such cannot delay the start of your ceremony.


      2. Any loss caused by a request from you or your representatives to delay the ceremony.


      3. Any loss or compensation where a ceremony is stopped from proceeding (or stopped from proceeding once commenced) because:


        1. It would be void if it went ahead


        2. An offence under the Marriage or Civil Partnership Acts has been committed


        3. It would be against the public interest


        4. All group gatherings have been banned by Parliament/The Government e.g. in a pandemic situation


      4. The failure of any music system.


    3. Where an insurance claim is made by the Council in respect of the Hire, the Council shall on demand recover the excess from the Hirer.


    1. NOTICE OF CANCELLATION

    2. Any Notice of cancellation given to a party under or in connection with this Agreement shall be in writing and must be sent by email to weddings@wolverhampton.gov.uk.


    3. Any Notice of cancellation shall be deemed to have been received at the time of transmission, or, if this time falls outside business hours in the place of receipt, when business hours resume. In this clause business hours means 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday on a day that is not a public holiday in the place of receipt.


    4. The Council will notify the Hirer where Notice of Cancellation is to be sent to an alternative address than that in clause 7.1.


    1. CANCELLATION AND POSTPONEMENT


    2. The Hirer must give Notice to cancel the Hire to which they will be liable to the Council as follows:


      Notice Period Amount

      Less than 6 weeks To pay 100% of the Charges

      More than 6 weeks All Charges paid to date


    3. The Hirer must give Notice to postpone the Hire to which they will be liable to pay the Council the Charges of the Hire as it will be on the date of the actual Hire.


    4. Where the Hirer fails to provide Notice of cancellation in compliance with Clause 7 of this Agreement, the Council will be entitled to the full Charges.


    5. The Council reserves the right to cancel the Hire with immediate effect, without notice where:


      1. there is reasonable belief to suspect that the information in the Marriage or Civil Partnership Booking Form is purposefully incorrect or inaccurate;


      2. Legal preliminaries, including Notice of Marriage, have not, or cannot, be completed;


      3. that the Licensed Room becomes or is not fit for the purpose of the Hire; or


      4. it considers it necessary for any cause outside of their control.


        In the event the Council cancel the Hire in accordance with Clause 8.4, the Council shall not be held liable or required to pay compensation for any loss sustained as a result of or in any way arising out of the cancellation of the Hire.


    6. The Council’s use takes precedence over the Hirer’s use of the Venue. The Council will provide the Hirer with reasonable notice where possible and of any occasion when the Venue will not be available.

The Council reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions.