London, Apr.23 : England football ace Wayne Rooney and his fiancee Coleen McLoughlin have signed up for life at Crewe

Manchester United fans, however, need not worry - because the form that both signed was for their wedding banns, and not a contract with the town's struggling League One club.

The banns of marriage, commonly known simply as "the banns", (from an Old English word meaning "to summon") are the public announcement in a parish church that a marriage is going to take place between two specified persons.

The purpose of banns is to enable anyone to raise any legal impediment to it, so as to prevent marriages that are legally invalid, either under canon law or under civil law.

Impediments vary between legal jurisdictions, but would normally include a pre-existing marriage (having been neither dissolved nor annulled), a vow of celibacy, lack of consent, or the couple being related within the prohibited degrees of kinship.

In England, under the provisions of Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act, a marriage is only legally valid if the reading of the banns has taken place or a marriage licence has been obtained.

Roo and Coleen, both 22, had their banns posted at Crewe Register Office as it is the administrative centre for Cheshire, where they live.

The documents reveal they will actually wed near the Italian city of Genoa.

The couple will be hoping the ceremony goes more smoothly than the paperwork after Roo's occupation was misspelled as "proffesional" footballer.

Coleen - who is on holiday with girlfriends in Florida this week - lists her occupation as a journalist.

A register office worker said: "Both would have signed the forms in front of the registrar. Posting the banns in the UK is a requirement by the country where they're marrying."

Wayne and Coleen are due to tie the knot in June in front of about 60 close family and friends. They will throw another party when they return to Britain, The Sun reports.

ANI