[SarahM72]

i'm trying to find a particular marriage certificate (a relatively recent one). I have the people's names and year of marriage. I don't have the exact date though, so I can't order one through the official ordering site. And UK doesn't seem to have any websites open to the public to just be able to look up these details?

How do I find out the exact date of marriage of a couple who married in the UK in the previous two decades?

Any help gratefully accepted, as I'm attempting to order the certificate now.

[howdo]

I know mum raves about St Catherine House and got a lot of information and certificates using their services. Have you tried there at all?

[SarahM72]

Okay thanks heaps Howdo. I just looked there and it is not necessary to know the full dat, so I certainly could order one. But is it an official one? The person needs an official copy for legal purposes. I don't understand the differences between the government website and these private websites that supply certificates.

[howdo]

The one's I am looking at certainly look official. I believe that what happens is they order from the same place - you are paying the agent to search for the certificate and do the ordering paperwork for you.

The ones I have here are quite old, but indicate they are certified copies of entries. If they can tell you the date, at the end of the day you could order the certificate from the BDM agency. Are you authorized to order the certificate though? Often, if it's a marriage after a certain date you have to be one of the people on the certificate or next of kin.

[SarahM72]

Thanks howdo. You've been a fantastic help. Yeah, I'm just helping with the ordering. But we both got stuck by not knowing the date.

[Bek+3]

I have done this. In the UK (well 8 years ago when I ordered mine for the family tree book) they do not have a central BD&M database. To obtain a BD or M certificate you have to find out the exact county or even town where they were at the time and order directly. If you don't know that information, it's near impossible. Also, many records were lost ans cannot be recovered.

I was married in the UK. I need to get a new marriage certificate but can only do so specifically through the registry office in the town that I was married in!!

[howdo]

Well hopefully I steered you right! LOL it does say official Certified copies actually, so it should be hunky dory
I found this one too Somerset House Vital Certificates but yeah, mum's always used St Catherines.

This post has been edited by howdo: 02/12/2012, 08:21 PM

[SarahM72]

Thanks Bek+3. Yes, it's amazingly difficult. You'd think there would be a more centralised system!

[Percoriel]

Depends on how recent it was, you could try one of the genealogical sites like findmypast.co.uk or if it was in Scotland, scotlandspeople.co.uk.

You also have to deal with the privacy restrictions too. Even here you can't just apply for a marriage certificate unless you are one of the parties (and can prove it) or you have a party's permission to do so.