In recent years, more and more newlyweds are abandoning the romance of the registry office in favor of practicality. Not everyone likes to order a wedding cortege and then stand in line with the guests for a long time in the lobby of the Wedding Palace. Some couple will definitely be late, someone will forget their passports, and all this time both the newlyweds themselves and their guests will be forced to wait. The speech of a registry office employee has long become a reason for jokes, and interiors (especially in the regions) are often not conducive to romantic photographs. The ceremonial registration of a marriage differs from the non-ceremonial one in its pomp, which is sometimes quite inappropriate and does not fit into the concept of the wedding.
Solemn registration of marriage and non-solemn registration - what are the differences?
You can come to the informal registration even in jeans or a tracksuit. It is held not in the Wedding Palace, but in the regional registry office. The main difference between solemn and non-solemn registration of marriage is that non-solemn is nothing more than a legal procedure, for which you do not need to set aside a whole day and gather guests.
There can be many reasons for a non-celebratory registration - from on-site registration, which usually follows in a few days or weeks, to a complete reluctance to hold any celebrations at all. Recently, instead of spending money on a lavish wedding, newlyweds are increasingly planning a trip with the money they save.
Rules for submitting documents
From a legal point of view, the solemn registration of marriage differs very little from the non-solemn registration. The bride and groom jointly submit an application to the registry office, in which they indicate their mutual desire to get married and confirm that both have reached the age of majority and are not in an undissolved marriage. The application is submitted together with the newlyweds’ passports and a receipt for payment of the state duty.
Through “Gosuslugi”
When submitting an application through the government services website, you can immediately make a choice between solemn and non-solemn marriage registration. A note about this is placed directly when filling out the application online.
To use the public services portal, the bride and groom must have registered accounts there, confirmed by an electronic signature. This is necessary so that the newlyweds can jointly sign the application.
The state duty can also be paid on the website using the online service.
Personal statement
To do this, you must submit the application to the registry office yourself. The state duty in this case will be slightly higher (there is a discount on the government services website). The set of documents for both ceremonial and non-ceremonial registration will be the same.
Deadlines for painting under quarantine conditions
The coronavirus pandemic has made significant changes to the work of many budget organizations, and registry offices are no exception. During the quarantine, some of them completely stopped registering most civil status acts, including marriages. But in some regions (for example, in Tyumen), registration has become available online.
This could be an ideal option for non-ceremonial registration, because you don’t even need to leave your home for it - just submit an application on the government services portal, after which the registrar will independently enter the data into the civil registry book and issue the spouses an electronic marriage certificate.
Fortunately, as of June 1, 2021, restrictions have been lifted in most regions, and registry offices are operating as standard - you must submit an application a month before the desired registration date.
What days are they on?
The solemn registration of marriage differs from the non-solemn one in that it is usually held on weekends. Most often, Saturday becomes the busiest day in the work of registry offices. After all, when setting the date for the ceremonial registration, the desire of the newlyweds is not enough - you need to take into account that the guests must also be free on this day.
Non-ceremonial registration is carried out on weekdays according to the work schedule of a regular government agency - as a rule, district registry offices are open five days a week from 8:30 to 17:30.
In some regions, specific days may be set aside for non-ceremonial registration, such as odd or even numbers, or certain days of the week.
On what days is it held?
If we talk about specific days, then each institution has its own regulations related to registration. It often happens that both formal and simple registration take place on the same day. Therefore, it is enough to clarify this information.
Often, non-ceremonial registration is carried out by appointment . Perhaps the couple will be included in the same list that is used in the process of ceremonial painting.
The difference is that in the first case the procedure takes a much shorter period of time. Under certain circumstances, a wedding without a celebration is held on weekdays, and the day for a wedding with a celebration is set on a weekend.
It will be better to find out about the procedure for holding the ceremony in the registry office located in the territory of the corresponding locality.
Differences between ceremonies for solemn and non-solemn registration of marriage
In this regard, the solemn registration of marriage differs from the non-solemn one in that the latter takes place faster and does not carry any festive atmosphere. It can be compared to a visit to the passport office to pick up a reissued document.
The bride and groom appear at the appointed time to sign in the civil registration book, listen to a short speech by the registrar and receive a certificate. There will be no music, no photographer, no queue of other weddings. The more solemn registration of marriage differs from the usual one in that the second one is carried out in a simple office of a civil servant.
What days, special conditions (pregnancy, life-threatening)
Today you can order a wedding virtually, but, unfortunately, not when we are talking about a non-pompous ceremony. The main difference between solemn and non- solemn marriage registration is that if in the case of a standard ceremony it can be ordered via the Internet, then a non- solemn one will have to be ordered the old fashioned way.
That is, a couple of future spouses must visit the registry office in person. Moreover, according to the rules, you can submit an application five weeks before the wedding. But the couple can be signed no earlier than in a month or even two months. Much depends on how busy the registry office is during this period. For example, most weddings fall in the summer and autumn, but winter and spring are relatively free. That is why, if you don’t want to wait in line for a long time while everyone takes a photo at the registry office, plan your celebration precisely for these periods.
As for the registration process, everything is much simpler here. The fact is that he is appointed on a free date, both at the request of the spouses themselves, and based on the capabilities of the registry office. If the date and time suit the newlyweds, they agree and come to the appointed time; if not, the staff offers free dates until the couple agrees. As a rule, you can undergo this procedure from Thursday to Sunday.
But there are special circumstances that affect how many days before the registry office can open its doors to future spouses. In particular, this applies to the following cases:
- If the future wife is pregnant and this fact is confirmed by a certificate from a gynecologist, and not just a photo on social networks;
- If a couple has recently had a child, there is no need to confirm the relationship, because young people are already a family;
- If one of the spouses is in danger of life. This could be an illness or the young man’s participation in hostilities, etc.
In such cases, the time frame for consideration of an application for marriage is reduced to a minimum period and amounts to no more than one or two days.
Non-solemn registration of marriage with a citizen of another state
If one of the newlyweds is a foreign citizen, then non-celebratory marriage registration is often chosen in order to truly celebrate the wedding in his homeland.
What documents are required
The procedure for marrying a foreigner is the same, regardless of whether we are talking about a citizen of a foreign country or the CIS.
The list of documents for a citizen of another state is as follows:
- identification document;
- certificate of divorce from a previous marriage, if there was one;
- a certificate of marital status issued in the country of which he is a citizen.
Documents must be valid in Russia, translated into Russian and certified by a Russian notary.
Features of the ceremony
A citizen of any state who wishes to get married in Russia is subject to the laws of the Russian Federation, and marriage is concluded only in the manner established by local legislation.
If the newlywed is already married, and the laws of his native country allow polygamy, he still will not be able to get married in Russia. The same applies to the minimum acceptable age. It is different in different countries, in most regions of Russia it is 18 and older (not counting individual cases).
A marriage with a citizen of the CIS can be concluded in any district registry office, with a citizen of the Baltic countries and foreign countries - only in some branches.
By default, a marriage entered into in the Russian Federation is also valid in other states, unless their legislation provides otherwise.
If the marriage is revealed to be fictitious (the spouses do not live together, do not maintain a joint household, do not communicate with each other and do not provide each other with material support), it will be annulled from the moment of its conclusion. Thus, if the marriage was concluded to accelerate the acquisition of citizenship, citizenship will be revoked.
How it goes
Not everyone knows how non-ceremonial registration occurs, because most couples prefer pompous ceremonies, paying tribute to traditions. Now the couple is having a holiday, and even if you chose a non-celebratory ceremony, this does not mean that the holiday loses its relevance. The simple fact is that the wedding will take place in a calmer atmosphere than usual, and therefore the guests invited to the painting, and the newlyweds themselves, will have less reason to be nervous.
The essence of non-solemn marriage registration is the signing of an agreement, after which young people receive a new status - spouses. But it should be borne in mind that such a ceremony can only be arranged in the registry office, and not in the Wedding Palace. The last option always involves registering a ceremonial type of marriage, which, as we have already found out, we do not need.
If desired, the couple can invite relatives and friends, but if a non-celebratory ceremony takes place, the spouses prefer to take only witnesses. Although parents also want to see how they will be registered. Those invited can take a few photos as a souvenir, because, despite the fact that the ceremony is not pompous, the lovers will still want to review the photos of how this union was concluded.
It all happens as follows:
- Applications for marriage registration are submitted as for a standard marriage ceremony;
- On the appointed day and date, applicants come along with invited guests, of course, if they want to see someone at their wedding;
- After this, the registry office employees will require a passport from the couple in order to formalize the new status of the newlyweds;
- The special inspector must create a new act record, checking the data specified in it;
- Having made an entry, it must be printed on a special form. This form is numbered and registered, which is why it is so important to fill it out correctly;
- Next, a stamp is placed on the form. The document must also be signed by the head of the registry office.
After the employees work, changes must be made to the couple’s passports. In particular, employees put a stamp on the “Marital Status” page. To change the surname by the spouse, a special mark is placed on the first page. This means that your passport needs to be changed. The period during which this is done is a whole month. The couple puts their signatures in the register and leaves the establishment as married people.
Average age of marriage in Russia and other countries
If we compare the average age of marriage in different countries, Russia in recent years will be closer to those who marry later. There is a tendency that the more stable a country’s economy, the higher the average age of newlyweds. Here's what the statistics say:
- The oldest newlyweds are in Europe. Residents of Great Britain, France, Holland, Norway and Italy enter into their first marriage at an average age of 32.
- Almost behind them are the USA and Spain - here first marriages usually take place at 28 and 29 years old, respectively.
- Also, 29 years is the approximate age of a newlywed in Japan. A little less - 27 years - in China.
- The average age of marriage in Russia is about 25 years.
- In different Latin American countries, this age varies from 19 to 23 years.
The earliest marriages take place in the countries of the Middle East - where the average age of newlyweds is about 17 years, despite the fact that girls are often married off before reaching 14 years of age.
Witnesses
A wedding is an important event and therefore it is not surprising that future newlyweds have questions about how it will take place. For example, many people are interested in: are witnesses needed?
Of course yes. As a rule, during a non-ceremonial ceremony, when all the papers are signed in the office, only the bride and groom, as well as their witnesses, are allowed there. In addition, without the signatures of witnesses, it is difficult to consider a marriage legal, so it is still worth inviting at least someone to sign.
Witnesses and bridegrooms may ask what they wear to a non-formal ceremony? As a rule, the uniform is loose. If you want, wear a wedding dress, but they won’t even say a word about a tracksuit. In other words, clothes are not the main thing, wear what you feel comfortable in. This is a ceremony for the bride and groom, and not for guests, which is why it is in such demand.
