Civil ceremony

There is no national rule in Germany about what may be photographed during a civil ceremony. Each registry office decides for itself, and in Berlin it differs between boroughs. The common terms are: no flash, no tripod, one fixed position in the room, no movement during the address — and the rings and the signing explicitly released. Some rooms permit photographs only before and after the ceremony, and a few permit none at all.

So this booking includes a written enquiry to the registry office in question before the date is confirmed, rather than a conversation at the door on the morning. The three hours cover the arrival, the ceremony, the congratulations and a group photograph of everyone present, followed by forty-five minutes of couple portraits nearby — frequently the only part of the day the two of you are alone. A hundred and fifty edited photographs, gallery within a week.

A registry office appointment is short, and nearly everything that can go wrong happens outside the door. Allow twenty minutes of slack before your slot, because the ceremony ahead of yours rarely finishes on the minute and the guests arriving are part of the story. Many ceremony rooms seat only a limited number of people, so ask the office how many may come in with you. For the congratulations outside, it helps to give one witness the job of keeping everyone together until the group photograph is taken; otherwise half the party is already at the car park.

After you enquire through the form, we call or email with a quote that will not change, and the written request to your registry office goes out before you commit. Only things named in advance change the cost — longer coverage, for example through lunch at a restaurant, or delivery within twenty-four hours. The couple portraits are planned somewhere close to the registry office, so none of the forty-five minutes is lost in traffic. The gallery is private, and the photographs are yours to print, send to family abroad and use on thank-you cards.