A Civil Ceremony

[Emmy]

We are having a civil ceremony in a large hotel in August. We are not having a small wedding (80 - 100 guests) and it will be full of friends and family. The ceremony room is lovely and there will be a great atmosphere. The only thing that worries me is the length of the ceremony. We have yet to meet the registrar to discuss things with her, although we do have an appointment. Do you know if we can write our own vows and if so do you have any tips or references? We are having a string quartet playing before, during and after the ceremony, do you know of any non-religious songs that might be suitable for our guests to sing instead of hymns?
Thanks.

[Kate]

There are a number of books that you might look at - Design Your Own Wedding Ceremony (http://www.2-in-2-1.co.uk/weddings/planwedding/designwed/) and Weddings (http://www.2-in-2-1.co.uk/weddings/planwedding/wedbest/), include non-religious material.

Wedding Day Songs (http://www.2-in-2-1.co.uk/weddings/wedmusic/weddaysong/) is a list of contemporary songs. You could also look at some of the other compilations (http://www.2-in-2-1.co.uk/weddings/wedmusic/)