Age Requirements

Both parties participating in the wedding ceremony must be at least 18 years old to get married in Ontario. Written consent from both parents is needed for those who are 16 or 17 years old. Consent forms are available at all municipal offices within the province.

Ceremony

Ceremonies are performed by Office of the Clerk staff by appointment only. We perform simple, non-denominational ceremonies that take about 15 minutes. The ceremonies are performed only on Fridays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The maximum number of guests allowed to attend ceremonies is 20. 

Ceremonies are performed in English. You must arrange for an interpreter if you need one.

Please Note: If you have had a religious ceremony performed, in any country, a marriage licence cannot be issued to you as you are considered married.

Exceptions

• One or both parties are under physical or mental force
• One or both parties fail to meet the age requirements
• The parties are related as grandparent, parent, child, grandchild, brother or sister
• One or both parties are currently married
• One or both parties are mentally ill or under the influence of alcohol or drugs and not able to understand the nature of the marriage contract and the duties, obligations and responsibilities that result from marriage

Informal, Religious or Symbolic Ceremonies

The Marriage Act contains subsection 31, “Marriages solemnized in Good Faith”. This means the City can’t issue a marriage licence or perform a marriage ceremony after another ceremony has taken place. This includes an informal, spiritual, or symbolic ceremony, e.g. destination wedding, or a ceremony performed by an unregistered officiant. (This is not applicable to previous marriages that have ended through divorce/annulment/death.)

Couples will need to get legal advice from a family lawyer. The family lawyer can assist with getting the marriage ceremony you already had validated through the courts.

Booking 

We require two dates to be confirmed in order to secure a ceremony date: a civil ceremony date and a pre-wedding meeting.  

Marriage ceremonies are performed only on Fridays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. subject to availability. 

Pre-wedding meeting bookings are only Monday to Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. subject to availability.

We ask that the pre-wedding meeting be held at least one week prior to the ceremony. The purpose of this meeting is to pay all applicable ceremony fees, apply for your marriage licence (if applicable) and discuss details of the ceremony with your officiant. 

Booking

To book your ceremony and pre-wedding meeting please email marriage@richmondhill.ca and include the following information:

• preferred date and times for both the civil ceremony and pre-wedding appointment,

• the first and last name of both parties to the intended marriage,

• and a phone number for each person. 

Please note, if either party has been previously divorced, an original divorce certificate is required to obtain a marriage licence, divorce orders are not accepted. If divorced out of Canada a foreign divorce authorization letter from the Province of Ontario is required before the pre-wedding meeting.

Please note, we are unable to hold ceremony timeslots until all necessary booking information is received and you receive a confirmation by email. 

Cost

Effective January 2024 the cost of a civil ceremony is $375.00, plus taxes. The Marriage Licence fee is an additional $170. You can pay the ceremony fees at the time of your pre-wedding meeting. We accept cash, debit, personal cheque, Visa or MasterCard.

Feel free to bring a photographer to your civil marriage ceremony.

There are also a lot of great locations in Richmond Hill for wedding, engagement and family photos. Learn more about photography locations and permits.