Thanks for your reply Michael unfortunately the surname we have doesn't relate to any other surnames or marriages in the family and no previous marriage took placeit, appears to have just been chosen. Must admit we didn't think we had needed to provide our birth certificates as any proof and checked with our eldest who married this year and neither of the parties needed to provide a proof of ID at their wedding either... Sounds like a flaw in the system bearing in mind our proof of identity appears to be needed for everything else but appears to be a historical one which has been going for years. Take care all, Linda & Tony