Civil Partnership Ceremonies
You organise a civil partnership just as you would a straight wedding to take place in a register office or licensed venue. Probably your first port of call should be your local register office where you'll get the information you need.
As you can imagine, since civil partnerships became law in December 2005 numerous websites and other organisations have sprung up especially to cater for 'gay weddings'. I have no doubt whatsoever that the majority of these organisations are extremely helpful not only in advising you about procedures and other practical aspects of organising the day, but also in answering any questions you may have about the legal and emotional aspects.
How do you make the announcement to your families?
Obviously, a lot depends here on how far 'out' you are in the first place where your families are concerned. I'm straight, so have no personal experience here, but have many gay friends who advise me that ideally you should get the 'coming out' issue achieved with your families before you announce your civil partnership plans. That makes sense, really. As civil partnership ceremonies currently may only be conducted by a Registrar in the UK, the issues of who should give one partner away, who should be the best man/woman, etc, do not arise unless you plan such customs into your ceremony deliberately.
However there is nothing to stop you - and everything to be gained by - involving your parents, siblings and children in the ceremony as far as possible. Not only does this make them feel part of your ceremony, but also part of your partnership. And that can be very precious to all concerned.
Is there still disapproval?
Generally speaking, the only areas in which there is still some disapproval of civil partnerships is within religions. At the time I'm writing this it's only Liberal Judaism which has accepted CPs and has published a gay wedding liturgy to be used in its synagogues. Getting a religious blessing in other religions is not necessarily impossible though, and there are many gay-friendly officiants willing to help. As is the case with straight couples, you're not allowed any religious content in the civil ceremony.
What restrictions are there on where and what you do?
In the context of the civil ceremony, the short answer is that there are no restrictions. You are allowed to conduct the ceremony in any venue licensed for civil services, whether gay or straight. You're perfectly entitled to design the ceremony as you wish provided that it has no religious content, but your options are still wide and varied. You can have readings, an exchange of rings, your own personalised vows and pretty well anything else.
