Free marriage ceremonies for six couples whose wedding day has been affected by Thomas Cook collapse

Staff at Warwickshire County Council’s Registration Service have been so moved by stories of couples who have lost their planned wedding abroad as a result of Thomas Cook going into administration, they have offered to help.

The Registration Service is offering to provide a free legal marriage ceremony in one of their picturesque registration office ceremony rooms in Warwickshire to the first six couples to apply.

The idea came from Warwickshire Registrar, Jayne Howle, a former Birmingham Airport manager who now works for Warwickshire Registration Service.

As part of her role, Jayne conducts marriage ceremonies and was, along with her colleagues, saddened to hear about the stories of couples whose dreams of a wedding abroad have been shattered due to the collapse of Thomas Cook.

Talking about the offer, Councillor Kam Kaur, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Customer and Transformation, said: "We recognise that marriage is a significant moment in a person's life and we therefore understand how devastating the news will have been for couples getting married abroad in the next few weeks and months.

“We have a wonderful team here in Warwickshire who perform marriage ceremonies across the County who are willing to help the couples affected by conducting the ceremonies and booking one of our beautiful registration rooms for free.

“I think this shows the very real care and compassion of the team to help people fulfil their dreams. It’s more than a job, it’s a real vocation.

“All we ask is that couples who apply are Warwickshire residents and are able to provide evidence of their Thomas Cook wedding booking. Marriages must have been due to take place during 2019 and all statutory notice fees will need to be paid by the couple. We hope that by offering our support that we can in some small way help to make a difficult situation a little easier.”

All requests for this free offer should be made by October 31 2019 and will be subject to availability, terms and conditions.

For more information please contact [email protected]

More information about marriage ceremonies, civil partnerships, renewal of vow ceremonies, baby naming ceremonies, British Citizenship ceremonies and the Nationality Checking Service can be found on the Warwickshire County Council website at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/registrations.