we wed? HAPPY Bolton couples may have named the day but not the place...because they still do not know where they are getting married.

With just weeks to go before their big day, they have not been told if they will tie the knot in Paderborn House or Mere Hall.

Prospective brides and grooms booking register office weddings this autumn were told they could be getting hitched in either of the two venues.

A definite date had not been set to move the Registrar from unpopular town centre offices to historic Mere Hall which was undergoing a £1 million transformation by City Challenge.

But couples getting married over the next few weeks have complained that they have not been able to send out invitations because they still do not know where the ceremony will be. The BEN has been told the new Register Office will be open for business on November 11 but one groom-to-be, who did not want to be named, said: "It has been a farce, we have not heard anything yet.

"It sounds like it has been a cock up because when we called at the register office a fortnight ago a woman told us they still did not know what was going on.

"They said interior designers had been called in at the last minute and they did not know when it would be ready.

"We have had enough to sort out without worrying about all this as well. We are due to get married in a few weeks and we do not know where to tell our guests to go."

A spokesman for the Register Office apologised for any inconvenience and said a letter was due to go out to all couples telling them of the new venue.

Uncertainty over the opening date had been caused because the they had to wait for the Registrar General to inspect Mere Hall and award a special licence to host weddings. He added: "The £1 million refurbishment of Mere Hall has now been completed within the 12 month timescale forecasted. As with any old buildings, problems were discovered as work progressed but these were sorted out within the time schedule."

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