HAPPY couples in Little Hulton and Walkden wanting to marry at Salford Register Office will be able to go online to book their ceremony later this year.

New ceremony diaries will go online in the next few months to allow couples to book weddings and civil partnerships.

And, after a slight drop in weddings last year — due to superstitious couples not wanting to marry in 2013 — registrars are bracing themselves for a boom year.

From December, more than 200 people who celebrated civil partnership ceremonies in Salford will be asked if they wish to convert their partnership to a marriage. They can do this by signing a legal document at the Register Office.

The new online diaries will let applicants see what dates are available.

They can then provisionally book a slot for their ceremony and secure it by sending an electronic payment for the provisional booking.

However, by law, they must visit the Register Office in person, to give the notice of marriage, their formal declaration of their intention to marry.

People will also be able to book appointments online to register a birth or death.