Learn about the process of working with a wedding celebrant, or more specifically, me, Fan, at Fanfare Ceremonies in this helpful guide.
Learn exactly what happens, from the first point of contact with me right through until your wedding ceremony itself.
Table of Contents
You found me
You have done your research by looking through directories such as The Celebrant Directory, on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Perhaps it was a personal recommendation. But anyway, whichever led you here, you did it, you found me! Hurray!
Have you checked out my website, read my testimonials, and decided that working with a wedding celebrant sounds perfect for you? Great. Then you reach out to me via my contact form or email.
What happens next?
I’ll be delighted to hear from you, and hopefully will be available on the date you have chosen. I’ll suggest we meet, preferably, face to face, but if that’s not possible, on FaceTime. I have conducted a wedding for a couple who lived in Australia. We met on Zoom before finally meeting face to face when they flew over for their wedding.
We meet
When working with a wedding celebrant, you get to meet them (unlike a Registrar is is, more often than not, a stranger on the day of your wedding). This meeting is not long. It’s a bit like a speed date! You will tell me what you are planning and can ask any questions you may have. I will explain what happens when working with a wedding celebrant and the service I provide.
By the end of this meeting, you will know whether or not your instincts were right and that I am the wedding celebrant for you. You need to be sure that my style aligns with yours. You need to be sure that we will be able to work together happily and closely. and finally, you will need to be sure that you have found a wedding celebrant who can fulfil your vision for your ceremony.
I guarantee you will know when you have found the right person.
Making the right choice
I cannot overemphasise the importance of choosing the right wedding celebrant. You need to have a good rapport.
After all, your wedding celebrant will be the one who will be standing in front of your families and friends and speaking about meaningful elements of your lives. You should feel comfortable and relaxed with the person who is not only playing this important role but who will also navigate you through the entire ceremony process.
A great, professional wedding celebrant does not cost much more in context than other suppliers, but the difference between getting it wrong or right is striking.
Choosing a wedding celebrant on price alone is a huge risk. A great wedding celebrant has the power to make the difference between an ordinary ceremony and an extraordinary ceremony.
Book your wedding celebrant
Once you’ve decided I’m the one, I will request a £100 non-refundable deposit, which saves your date.
Like most wedding celebrants, I only present one ceremony a day. So I shall be yours on that date for as long as you want me and can be completely flexible on time.
I will then send you a contract for you both to sign and return to me.
When do we meet again?
The next time we meet is not until about 3 months before your ceremony. During the interim period, however, remember that when working with a wedding celebrant, like me, they are delighted if you keep in touch. Let me know how your wedding plans are coming along, for example, and I will help in any way I can (I have a lot of wedding industry contacts if you are stuck for a supplier).
Questionnaire
When you are working with a wedding celebrant, prepare for lots of questions from them! Prior to our next meeting, I will send you a questionnaire. Ideally, I would like it returned before we meet next, the big fat meeting, but this is not essential.
My couples, although a little horrified at the outset, actually find the whole exercise rather fun and cathartic.
A lot of the questions are light-hearted, some are more emotionally probing, and some are factual. You will find that when working with a wedding celebrant that they like to have a great mix of information to work with.
For me, it provides the foundations of your ceremony. It forms the backbone of your script, and I use it as an aide memoire for the timeline of your relationship and story.
The big fat meeting
When working with a wedding celebrant, you will find they need to have an important meeting with you about 3 months before the wedding ceremony day. You will need to allow a minimum of 2 hours for a meeting with me. Personally, this is my favourite part of the entire process. It is when we all get to know one another.
I hear all about your story and your plans for your wedding in depth. I watch how you interact and your body language.
I watch how you react when you talk about the people you love. Not only your partner, but also your friends and family.
I will advise on ceremony design and content and when needed provide help with writing vows, music suggestions and reading choices.
I will work to create ways to include family and friends and offer experience in dealing with logisitics, family dynamics and high expectations.
When the meeting finally ends, we will kiss goodbye and I always hear myself saying ‘most likely the next time we meet it will be on your big day’.
I always feel I have made some new friends and hope that when working with a wedding celebrant, you feel the same way too.
Wedding ceremony script writing
The writing process of crafting your ceremony can be lengthy.
It is important to find the right words to reflect your story with equal measures of humour and sincerity as well as always ensuring that the essence of your love is reflected in it.
I will remain true to the style of ceremony you have requested and will bring your story to life, making it entirely personal and unique, and in so doing, creating a lifetime memory.
When the first draft is completed, I shall send it to you. You will tweak and amend as necessary, and I will do the same. The script will go back and forth until we are absolutely happy. When you are working with a wedding celebrant, you will quickly learn they want your wedding day to be as perfect as you do!
Supplier liaison
I will make contact, where applicable, with the venue and/or wedding planner to make sure that we are all happy with the production of the day and on the same page.
I will also contact your photographer and videographer to introduce myself so that on the day we are all familiar with one another.
Your wedding
When working with a wedding celebrant, you will find them professional and organised; it comes with the territory. I always arrive a minimum of an hour beforehand. This gives me plenty of time to introduce myself to members of the families and, of course, all the groomsmen.
I get a message to you (the bride) to reassure you that I have arrived. I also make myself known to the readers and offer any advice where required.
When the music starts and the bridal party arrives, heralding that the long-awaited moment has come, my heart skips a beat. Often, my eyes fill with tears, and I have to give myself a metaphorical kick to pull myself together. That’s how involved I feel.
I then present our ceremony. And I really mean ours. We created it together, the three of us. It is the end result of months of happy collaboration, and it will be heartfelt, sincere, and filled with laughter and joy.
The beginning of your adventure
I utter the immortal words. “You may kiss your beautiful bride,” and for me, it’s nearly over. But for you, it’s the beginning of bigger and better things.
Before I leave, I love to get a picture of the three of us together. For me, these are the most special of all, a visual record of our special time together.
And so there we have it. Working with a wedding celebrant involves a lot of heart and soul. Of course, I can only outline to you the process of working with this wedding celebrant. However, I hope you can feel, it is a role I am passionate about, take very seriously, and every time I feel utterly privileged to undertake.
If you would like to become a part of the ever increasing ‘Fanfare’ family please do get in touch I would love to hear from you.
Image accreditation: Amy Sampson Photography, Lucy James Photography, Paige Grace Photography, Luna Weddings, Thomas Frost Photography and Farwood Photography
