Improvement of ceremonies room at Rochdale Register Office

Date published: 16/02/2007

A boom in couples tying the knot has led to a bright new look for a ceremonies room in Rochdale Register Office.

The last year has been a bumper one, with marriage ceremonies up by 15% and an additional 32 civil partnership ceremonies all being conducted in the Roche Suite.

This is largely attributed to good marketing of its services and the bonus of being situated in the beautiful gothic Town Hall.  From the additional income generated from these ceremonies, the Council agreed to invest in improving the Roche Suite.

The room has been sympathetically and tastily refurbished in keeping with the character of the Town Hall, including removing a suspended ceiling, creating an impressive new entrance, installing new lighting and heating, and completely redecorating.

Councillor Wera Hobhouse, Cabinet member for the environment and sustainability, will officially reopen the Roche Suite on 22 February 2007. She said: "This room is the setting for some of the most important events in the lives of local people and the money invested in improving the Roche Suite will help to make them even more enjoyable and memorable."

As well as being used for traditional civil weddings, the Roche Suite is used for civil partnership ceremonies (including those between same-sex couples), for ceremonies for couples to renew their vows, and for naming ceremonies (the civil equivalent of a Christening).