Catholic and planning to get married? Then you have just five days left to avoid a lot of hassle.
Couples who intend having Catholic marriages after November 5th, ie next Monday, but who give notice of their intention to do so before that date, will not need to meet a registrar personally or be issued with a marriage registration certificate.
Under new requirements for the civil registration of marriages, which come into force on November 5th, a couple must personally give notice of their intention to marry at the registrar's office three months before the wedding, make a declaration of no impediment, and provide any other information required.
They will be supplied with a marriage registration form without which their marriage will not have legal recognition. If it is not possible for them to attend the registrar's office three months in advance of the wedding, they must do so at least five days before the wedding.
However, Catholic couples,even those who do not intend marrying in the near future, can avoid this if they give notice, by post and before Monday, of their intention to wed.
One couple of whom The Irish Timeshas become aware of have already given notice by post of their intention to marry in 2009, and so they will not be required to go personally to a registrar's office.