The Duration Of Civil Wedding Ceremonies: A Comprehensive Guide

A standard civil wedding ceremony is usually pretty quick, lasting between 20-30 minutes. However, some couples decide to incorporate poems, readings, and music into the service to make the ceremony longer.

Average time of a civil wedding ceremony is 20-30 minutes

A civil wedding ceremony is usually pretty quick and lasts between 20 and 30 minutes. This is ample time to cover the basics of a wedding ceremony, including words of welcome, a few readings, your vows, the ring exchange, and the final pronouncement.

The exact length of your wedding ceremony will depend on how many different elements you choose to include. Some couples decide to incorporate poems, readings, and music into the service to elongate the nuptials.

If you want a shorter ceremony (and perhaps a bigger party...) this time frame is perfect. However, if you are allowing 30 minutes (and assuming you won't be late) you should be fine.

Planning your timings wisely is important. Some couples have 2 hours between the ceremony and the meal, which can be a bit pants if you are out in about 20 minutes.

The vows section lasts about 5 minutes max. From the start of the ceremony to the finish, including the signing and photography, the timings are pretty close to 20 minutes.

Time can vary depending on number of elements included

A standard civil wedding ceremony is usually pretty quick, averaging between 20-30 minutes. If you want a shorter ceremony (and perhaps a bigger party...) this time frame is perfect. However, some couples decide to incorporate poems, readings, and music into the service to elongate the nuptials.

The exact length of your wedding ceremony will depend on how many different elements you choose to include, as well as if you are having readings or speeches. The vows section lasts about 5 minutes max.

Planning Essentials suggests that you allow 30 minutes for your ceremony, and assuming you won't be late, you should be fine.

A friend of ours got married in 8 minutes..... we were out in about 20 minutes..... then had about 2 hours to wait for the meal, which was a bit pants if I'm honest.

If you want to make your ceremony last longer, you could try having 2 speeches and 2 songs as you have 2 hours between the ceremony and the meal.

Some ceremonies can be shorter by incorporating poems, readings, and music

A standard civil wedding ceremony is usually pretty quick, averaging between 20-30 minutes. However, some couples decide to incorporate poems, readings, and music into the service to make the ceremony longer.

If you want a shorter ceremony, this time frame is perfect. However, if you want to incorporate poems, readings, and music, you may want to plan your timings wisely.

The exact length of your wedding ceremony will depend on how many different elements you choose to include, as well as if you are having readings.

If you are having two speeches and two songs, you may want to allow 30 minutes for the ceremony. However, if you are not having any readings, the ceremony may be quite quick.

The vows section lasts about 5 minutes max. The words of welcome, a few readings, the ring exchange, and the final pronouncement can also be covered in the 20-30 minutes of the ceremony.

Time can vary depending on number of elements included

A standard civil wedding ceremony is usually pretty quick, lasting between 20-30 minutes. However, the exact length of your wedding ceremony will depend on how many different elements you choose to include.

If you want a shorter ceremony, this time frame is perfect. However, some couples decide to incorporate poems, readings, and music into the service to elongate the nuptials.

The vows section lasts about 5 minutes max. The ceremony begins with words of welcome, followed by a few readings, your vows, the ring exchange, and the final pronouncement.

If you are allowing 30 minutes (and assuming you won't be late), you should be fine. However, planning essentials suggest that 20 minutes is enough time to cover the basics.

A friend of ours got married in 8 minutes and we were out in about 20 minutes.

Some ceremonies can be longer by incorporating poems, readings, and music

A standard civil wedding ceremony is usually pretty quick, lasting between 20-30 minutes. However, some couples decide to incorporate poems, readings, and music into the service to make the ceremony longer.

The exact length of your wedding ceremony will depend on how many different elements you choose to include. For example, if you are having two speeches and two songs, you may want to allow 30 minutes for the ceremony.

If you want a shorter ceremony, this time frame is perfect. However, if you want a longer ceremony, you can incorporate readings and music to make the ceremony more personalised and meaningful.

The vows section typically lasts about 5 minutes, but you can extend this by including poems or readings that reflect your relationship and values.

Incorporating music into the ceremony can also add to the atmosphere and make the ceremony more memorable. You can choose songs that have special meaning for you and your partner, or songs that reflect your relationship and values.

Frequently asked questions