Civil Ceremonies

The Westwood is a registered venue for Civil Ceremonies and we can

offer a choice of private rooms for your Ceremony and for the Reception.

The bill to implement the Civil Partnership Bill within the Social Welfare system passed through the final stages of Government approval on Friday 17th of December 2010 and same sex couples are now able to apply with a three month notice period of their intention.

The HSE registrar will be able to legally register a same sex couple at approved venues and I am delighted to say that we have been approved.

Our private civil ceremony rooms can cater for groups of 15 to 175 persons and boast private

bar facilities and open fire. The Civil Ceremony Venue is set with red carpet running to the top of the room and seating is adorned with Chair Covers & Co-ordinated sashes.

Fresh floral arrangements are included and we can look after the PA requirements on the day for you.

All same sex couples who wish to enter into a Civil Partnership must attend at the office of a Registrar at least three months before the date of the ceremony to give notification of their intention to enter into a Civil Partnership to the Registrar

The Registrars can be contacted in Galway in the HSE offices of Births, deaths & marriages office @ Civil Registration Office, Community Services, 25 Newcastle Road, Galway, Opening Hours: 10:00am to 16.30pm Contact: 091 546277 http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/1/bdm/contactus/

To view the Richard Martin Banqueting set for a civil ceremony visit http://www.westwoodhousehotel.com/civil-ceremonies-galway.asp

Humanist Ceremonies

Traditionally most weddings were held in churches. The alternative was a registry office. Today, many couples do not want a religious service but want more than a registry office. For these couples a Humanist wedding offers the ideal solution. Humanist weddings can be held anywhere - indoors or out in the open. Many couples choose to hold their ceremony in a hotel, country house or castle; others simply use their own garden.

Humanist weddings can be held any day of the week. This is in contrast to registry office ceremonies which can only be held Monday to Friday. Humanist weddings can be conducted at any time of the day. They are often a little later than other weddings as there is usually no travel necessary from ceremony to reception.

Humanist weddings are easy to arrange - simply make contact by email or phone. Please give plenty of notice as demand for Humanist ceremonies is growing all the time.

Humanist wedding ceremonies are composed individually to suit the couple’s specific requirements. However they generally follow a generic pattern. The bride usually arrives in the traditional manner (but she doesn’t have to!) after which the celebrant says some words of welcome. After this there will be a mix of readings and music interspersed with appropriate words from the celebrant. Vows are made and rings are exchanged and then the celebrant will usually say some closing words before the happy couple leave amidst music and applause from their guests. Some couples like to light candles or have some other symbolism; others prefer a simpler, more straightforward ceremony. There are no rights and wrongs - the only real guidelines are that the ceremony should be secular and dignified.

For More information Contact Brian Whiteside, Director of Ceremonies, Humanist Assoc Of Ireland @ 086 3848940 or Email ceremonies@humanism.ie

A Spiritual Wedding Ceremony

Many couples are looking for a legal wedding ceremony which is more than a cicil ceremony yet not religious. They want to bring a sense of the Sacred to their wedding ceremony without having to align with the dogma of any particular church. Sometimes the Bride and Groom are from different traditions and they would like both traditions to be honoured in the ceremony. Until recently that was not possible but now you can have a legal AND spiritual wedding that is non-denominational by having a One Spirit Interfaith Minister as your Celebrant.

The role of the One Spirit Interfaith Minister is to help you as couple reflect deeply about the purpose of your relationship, the vision for your life together and how you would like to express your intentions in your wedding ceremony. What’s particularly wonderful about an Interfaith ceremony is that we offer you complete freedom and flexibility in choosing your content. Each ceremony is a personal reflection of who you are as a couple and where you are heading together. You can create your own vows and work with your Celebrant to design a meaningful ceremony which can include your favourite readings and music.

All One Spirit Interfaith Ministers are authorised to solemnise weddings and so can legally marry you as well as provide a beautiful bespoke ceremony. They are available 7 days a week.

You and your Celebrant will agree on any meetings you would like (in person, by phone or on Skype) and agree the process for completion of the various drafts.

You may want to include any or all of the following in your ceremony:

Music and entrance
Welcome/Introduction
Invocation
Candle Lighting
Remembrances
Readings/music
The address
Declaration of no impediment (needed for a legal marriage)
Expression of intent (needed for a legal marriage)
Handfasting ritual
Vows
Blessings and exchanging of rings
Prayer of blessing
Reading
Final blessing
Signing of Marriage Registration Form (needed for a legal marriage)
Celebration music

These are only suggestions of course. Apart from the legal requirements the ceremony will be created to include exactly what you both want. Typically a ceremony would be 30 - 45 minutes.

We can also provide a spiritual ceremony for those whose wedding has already been legalised maybe in another country, and for same sex couples who would like a sacred ceremony to honour their commitment to each other.

Want to find out more?

Let the team at The Westwood help you plan the most memorable day of your lives. Remember with just one wedding per day they assure of their best attention at all times. For those of you who require our 2016 -2017 wedding brochure please contact us through the enquiry form or directly by emailing weddings@westwoodhousehotel.com

For more information on weddings at The Westwood contact us on on Lo-call 1850 366 000 email us on weddings@westwoodhousehotel.com or alternatively click here for our wedding enquiry form.