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Introduction

Many couples make compromises to their wedding dreams. Unforeseen circumstances, like illness, finances, or even, in the past, Covid 19, can lead to you getting legally married with no wedding.

Likewise, some of you may still be in your planning stages and may not realise that it is not a necessity to have a legal marriage and your wedding at the same time.

Have you thought about celebrating your legal marriage at a later date and including a ceremony in that celebration? Did you even know this was an option? Discover all your options here.

Get Legally Married With No Wedding

The registration services offer a basic ‘no frills’ ceremony with just the two of you, your witnesses, and the Registrar in attendance. It’s as simple as saying 40 words, plus your names, and signing a witnessed entry to the register. It’s simple, no frills, and legally binding.

Is this what you decided to do in the end? Yes? Getting legally married with no wedding is a necessity for some couples at the time. However, as circumstances changed, are you now yearning to celebrate and share the joy of your commitment with a larger group? It is possible you know.

Perhaps you are still in the planning stages? Please do read on. You really do have a choice and many more options when you separate your legal marriage from your wedding day.

Celebrate the legal marriage with a wedding ceremony

Just because you are legally married, it does not mean that you cannot have a larger celebration with all your friends and family at a later date. What’s really cool is that you can include a wedding ceremony in that celebration too. This will be your wedding. This is the really special part.

This wedding ceremony is the reason for the celebration, an acknowledgement of your lifetime commitment to one another. The ceremony is the heartbeat of the day. Without it, the reason for the celebration often gets forgotten. It becomes a party, not a wedding.

The ceremony will bring your love to the forefront of the day and will resonate with everyone who attends.

Emma Oakes Photography

Legally Married With No Wedding: Can I still have a ceremony?

The short answer is yes. There is a big difference between a wedding and a marriage.

The wedding represents the celebration part of the day. The marriage is a legal contract between you. Additionally, it is also your continued relationship, long after your wedding day.

The key point here is to remember, a wedding and a marriage are not the same at all, and they do not have to be held on the same day.

The wedding ceremony is an opportunity for your family and friends to get to understand you both and the foundation of your relationship, and to be part of a momentous occasion, of course!

And for you and your partner, it’s a moment to sincerely thank everyone for supporting you and shaping you into the people and couple you now are.

Although you may not realise it, by getting legally married with no wedding, I.E., getting the legalities out of the way, you have given yourself time, flexibility, and plenty of options for your wedding ceremony. Well done you!

The legal element is a boring necessity

There’s no getting away from it; the legalities are an essential element. A box that needs ticking. But, I guarantee it won’t be the element of a ceremony you’ll remember.

What you’ll both remember is that moment when you declare your love and lifetime commitment to one another in front of the special people in your lives.

Furthermore, think about it, as a guest, what part of a wedding ceremony do you remember? Those 40 or so contracting words that have been repeated time and time again? Or the couple’s vows, the exchange of rings, and their declaration of commitment to one another?

A united celebration of your love

There are many reasons why couples get legally married with no wedding. However, once circumstances change, wouldn’t it be wonderful to finally have your friends and family across generations, in one space, celebrating your union? Weddings are always special, but if you got legally married with no wedding because life was difficult at the time, then your celebration will be just that little bit more magical too. A double celebration!

Large or small, it will be a long-awaited occasion that some will think was never going to happen. It will be made all the more special and significant by the inclusion of a personal wedding ceremony.

Your friends and family will be delighted that, in the end, they were able to witness you committing to one another. New, happy memories will be created, and they will be enjoyed for a lifetime.

Where can I have this wedding ceremony and celebration

You can have this ceremony literally anywhere because you are legally married. In other words, it doesn’t need to be a licensed wedding venue. Your options are endless.

Any location is a possible ceremony venue, and I really mean anywhere! However, don’t worry, it can still be at licensed wedding venue if you have fallen in love with one.

It is so exciting, the options and opportunities are endless. Perhaps your chosen licensed venue has a particularly beautiful ceremonial space that isn’t licensed – it doesn’t have to be now.

So if you’ve always wanted your wedding ceremony to be in a wood, it can be in a wood! Perhaps your heart is set on a beach wedding? You can have it there too! I promise there really is nowhere where this cannot be done! Are you starting to see the benefits of being legally married with no wedding?

DHW Photography 

Who would create the ceremony

This can be a daunting prospect. Furthermore, you may not have a friend or family member who would be up for this important role.

There is no need to be daunted, however. An independent wedding celebrant will guide you as much or as little as you want with readings, music choices, vows, promises, and the structure of the ceremony.

Your celebrant can provide you with a traditional format to work from or take your unformed ideas and make them cohesive.

Your ceremony can be as formal or as informal as you would like. Working closely together, it will be designed to reflect you and your relationship, and with you both at the heart of it.

Can I wear my wedding dress and have bridesmaids?

Yes, yes, yes. Yes to everything. You got legally married with no wedding, now’s your chance to shine. You can do exactly what you want.

Personalise your ceremony

In the wedding world, there are many trends being bandied about, and none more so than personalisation, and rightly so. Free from the restrictions and rules of a registrar-led ceremony, anything is possible.

You may want to include aspects of a traditional church wedding or some spiritual or cultural ritual.

Including these can have a double effect. Not only do they personalise your ceremony, but they are a wonderful way of including family members and/or friends.

Religion and spirituality may not be for everyone, but each ceremony can be tailored to suit, and there are many symbolic ceremonies to choose from. Handfasting, unity candle, jumping the broom, and ring warming, to name but a few!

Without exception, they add a visual element to your ceremony and will certainly make it even more memorable.

Wedding planning

If you are starting out on your wedding planning journey and are feeling overwhelmed by options available to you, this may be the best way forward. It may well be the simplest way.

Yes, it’s two events rather than one. You get legally married with no wedding, then celebrate in your own unique way on a different date. However, boy does it give you flexibility and, most importantly, you will both be at the heart of it.

Alternatively, you may have planned, planned, planned.  Then had to postpone, postpone, postpone, or, in some cases, even cancel. I completely understand if you are exhausted by the thought of planning any sort of celebration.

You may have moved on.  You may feel, ‘well, we’re legally married with no wedding, what’s the point of planning something now?’ However, when the dust has settled, you could feel very different. After all, what is better than a darn good celebration and uniting everyone in a common goal, to celebrate and share in your love and happiness?

Legally married with no wedding: Get In Touch

Ceremonies have been used as markers to help make sense of our feelings, highlight their importance, and articulate how we feel for years. It must be because they truly work!

So, if you got legally married with no wedding, I’d love to help you design your ceremony to celebrate the way you wish it to be celebrated. So, if you feel diddled out of your wedding ceremony, contact me and I will tell you how I can help.

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Introduction to ‘How Much Does a Wedding Celebrant Cost?’.

When considering the question ‘How much does a wedding celebrant cost? ‘, you also need to ask, ‘Are they good value for money?’. Contrary to popular belief, the job of a wedding celebrant is not just about turning up on the day and presenting a wedding ceremony. There is a whole lot more to it than that.

Whilst a wedding celebrant plays a crucial role in the day, they can fall fairly low in the pecking order of prioritisation in wedding planning. However, their role on your wedding day and their importance should never be overlooked.

Hopefully, in this helpful guide, I will deepen your understanding of the value of a wedding celebrant, rather than just focus on the cost.

So what IS involved and what do you get for your money?

Each wedding celebrant led ceremony is unique

If you are the type of person who really values your wedding ceremony and appreciates that the rest of the day is really a celebration of it, then you will agree that a wedding celebrant is absolutely worth prioritising and investing in.

Your ideal would be for your wedding ceremony to be the focal point of your day and for it to be memorable for its personalisation and remarkable for its sincerity and authenticity.

By using the services of a fully trained professional wedding celebrant, you will achieve a ceremony that is completely unique to you as a couple. Your wedding ceremony will fulfil that brief of personalisation and authenticity.

Choosing a wedding celebrant

When seeking the answer to your question, ‘How much does a wedding celebrant cost?’, I want you to remember that all wedding celebrants are very good value for money. Budgeting for one, from your list of suppliers, needs to be high up there on your agenda if you want a truly unique, memorable wedding ceremony.

Naturally, for you to achieve the individuality of your wedding ceremony that you are striving for, you must choose a wedding celebrant who is the very best that you can afford. In addition to this, they need to be the perfect match for you both.

So, please note, this does not mean that the most expensive celebrant will be the best for you. Equally, nor will the cheapest. Please, do not choose your celebrant on cost alone. You are investing in an individual who will make your special day all the more magical; prioritise who they are and if you like them, over and above the price.

In other words, to truly understand ‘How much does a wedding celebrant cost?’, you have to comprehend exactly what they do in the first place. This is the only way that you’ll see that the value they offer matches the price that they ask.

How to choose the Right Wedding Celebrant for You

It is important to remember that the relationship between a couple and their wedding celebrant is not short-lived like that of a Registrar. You do not meet for the first time on the day of your wedding. In other words, you will not be married by a stranger! You will work closely together during the months leading up to your wedding. So please, bear this in mind when comparing how much does a wedding celebrant cost, compared to a registrar.

The reason for these meetings and building a bond is to allow your celebrant to get to know you both. Then, they can create the personalised ceremony of your dreams.

You will meet many times.  Why? Because you must trust them and feel relaxed and happy to share personal elements of your lives and amusing anecdotes with them.

Your wedding celebrant will use all the information they have gleaned from you at these meetings to craft your ceremony.

Of all your wedding suppliers, your wedding celebrant will definitely know you both best of all. On the day of your wedding, you will not be strangers. At the very least, you will be good acquaintances; at best, you may even count your celebrant as a new friend.

Wedding Celebrant research

Where to Start:

With this in mind, you must research and choose a wedding celebrant who specialises in the style of ceremony you are striving for. All wedding celebrants have their own individual style.

Equally as important is to find someone with whom you click and with whom you feel comfortable and confident. Make sure they have the personality, experience, and commitment to work with you to create and present the ceremony of your dreams.

Personal recommendation is, of course, the best source of finding any supplier, but alternatively, a great place to start is The Celebrant Directory. Here you should find celebrants in your area (although it is worth looking further afield sometimes, as many celebrants, myself included, will travel). This directory provides plenty of images, testimonials, videos, and a short resume to help you. 

Wedding celebrant character:

When you search for your wedding celebrant, take notice of their photographs.  Do they smile? Does their energy convey a genuine, heartfelt love of what they do? Do you like what they wear? Do they show confidence and charm?

When you first meet on the phone or face to face, take notice of whether or not the celebrant’s vibe is positive and helpful.  How do they make you feel? Happy, valued, confident?

Do you like the sound of their voice? Do they speak clearly? Do you feel natural and comfortable, and know that you would be happy to discuss things openly and honestly with them? 

Contact a few wedding celebrants if you are not sure. Why? Because, as I eluded to earlier, the most important question is not ‘How much does a wedding celebrant cost?’, it is ‘How much value can this wedding celebrant bring to our special day?’

Pre-wedding preparations 

Did you know, a professional wedding celebrant can invest up to 20 hours of work on each ceremony. A fair amount of that time is in preparation. So I want you to consider this when you are asking, ‘How much does a wedding celebrant cost?’. A Registrar, by comparison, spends just the time it takes to arrive at your venue, set up, and conduct the ceremony, before often dashing off to their next one!

Wedding celebrants are personally invested in your wedding, and this work done in the background prior to your wedding is what will result in a fabulous wedding ceremony experience for you and your guests.

The following list is by no means definitive, but it describes some or most of the activities that a wedding celebrant carries out:

• Getting to know you and your partner through in-person meetings, telephone calls, and video chats
• Providing an in-depth questionnaire
• Planning, researching, and writing your ceremony
• Offering guidance and support on vows (yes, you can have personalised ones), readings, and music
• Offering wedding advice and solutions
• Coordinating and collaborating with other wedding suppliers on the day and in advance if necessary
• Liaising, where necessary, with the wedding venue

You will experience the results of all this preparation during the 40 minutes or so of your wedding ceremony!

As for your guests, they’ll notice just how relaxed and happy the couple is. How well crafted and super personal the ceremony is, reflecting their story, their relationships with friends and family, their personalities, and also plenty of laughter.

None of this can be achieved without investing considerable time in the preparation, which is why the cost of a professional wedding celebrant can sometimes be slightly more than that of a registrar.

So, How Much Does a Wedding Celebrant Cost?

To conclude, think carefully about your cost-to-value ratio before making your decisions.

Compare the experience of working with a professional wedding celebrant. They really can make the difference between an ordinary run-of-the-mill ceremony and an extraordinary personalised ceremony, compared to a similarly priced Registrar.

The registrar will attend the venue on the day, with a generic script, a short time slot, and will be the ‘on duty’ officiant, so very likely someone you have never met.

‘How much does a wedding celebrant cost?’ Even factoring in the price of getting the ‘legalities’ done prior to your special day, you will see that the cost of a wedding celebrant is a wise investment. 

Finally, in answer to your searching question, ‘How much does a wedding celebrant cost?’ I’d say send me a message and let’s talk! I’m happy to travel, I have a wealth of experience, and I promise I will be fully invested in you both!

My thanks to the many wedding photographers I have worked with who captured these lovely images.

Thomas Frost Photography

Luna Weddings

Lucy James Photography

Paige Grace Photography

Learn exactly what happens, from the first point of contact with me right through until your wedding ceremony itself.

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

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Would you like a Celebrant led wedding ceremony? Learn here how to combine it with the legal marriage conducted by the registrar. It’s all very simple really, you have your wedding at a later date! Intrigued? Confused maybe? Read on and I will explain all.

Choosing the Registrar’s 2+2 basic ceremony, combined with a Celebrant led wedding ceremony gives you flexibility and ultimately allows you to have the wedding you have dreamed of.  Likewise, it enables you to take back some control of your wedding planning.

The “no frills’ 2+2 wedding ceremonies are the most basic form of ceremony offered by the registration services. They are cheap, quick and convenient.

By combining the legal marriage, with a Celebrant led wedding ceremony, you are giving yourself time, flexibility and ultimately control of your venue and special day. Read on…

Difficult Circumstances

Sometimes, couples need to tie the knot quickly and simply, without all the fuss of a big wedding.

A close relative may be unwell, making time of the essence. Finances could be tight, making a lavish celebration feel out of reach. Or maybe an unexpected event, like the recent pandemic, has thrown your plans into chaos.

That’s where a 2+2 wedding by a Registrar can be the perfect solution. It’s intimate, straightforward, and stress-free—just the couple, two witnesses, and a heartfelt ceremony.

In short, it gives you the practicalities without the fuss. In addition to this however, as indicated earlier, it also gives you flexibility, time and more options to plan for your wedding ceremony at a later date and at your preferred venue or elsewhere.

What is the 2+2 ceremony?

A “2+2” ceremony or “basic” ceremony is short and only includes the legal elements needed to perform a marriage. The only people to attend will be you both, your two witnesses and the registrars. It is the cheapest and shortest option available.

It only includes a declaration, contracting words and an optional ring vow, chosen from a short standard selection and is available at selected registry offices. It takes place in a small private office. However, most importantly, it means you are legally married, which leaves you the opportunity to then have a wedding with no t’s to cross and i’s to be dotted!

I want to have our wedding at our dream venue 

To be legally married at a selected venue, the venue must hold a license. This can make it difficult if you have visions of a woodland wedding or a wedding at a special location to you both. If you cannot find a licensed venue that matches your concept you may feel disappointed. Likewise, you may have a perfect, licensed wedding venue in mind, but cannot get the registrar because they are fully booked. Well, after all, there are a limited number of Saturday’s in the year (that being the most popular day to wed).

However, if you were to scale back your legal ceremony to the simple 2+2, which can be held midweek at any mutually convenient time, when Registrars are more readily available; it would undoubtedly alleviate the pressures on them and open up a whole world of venue opportunities. At a later date, you can hold your larger wedding ceremony at your preferred venue. This can be a Celebrant led wedding ceremony. This will be a personalised wedding ceremony where you will exchange beautiful vows and rings. The ceremony will be a celebration of your legal marriage and tailored to reflect your love and relationship.

Image credit:  Little Phat Dog Photographic

My  wedding venue  Isn’t available.

If you have your heart set on a certain date and your venue can’t accommodate this (due to availability), then there is a very real and sad reality that you may have to compromise on your venue. However, if you have a 2 + 2 marriage at the Registry office, the places where you can hold a wedding ceremony are limitless, opening up a whole host of new venue options (that don’t have a license) you may not have considered before. Read more about this in the next section.

If the Registrar is unavailable but the venue is why not book in a 2 + 2 marriage at the Registry office on a different date to comply with the legalities, then have a wedding ceremony at your chosen venue led by a Celebrant? Celebrants rarely do more than one ceremony a day and are therefore completely flexible with timings. 

It may also be worth considering a mid week wedding at your chosen venue or a winter wedding. Both these options are less in demand and therefore there will be more availability.  A celebrant of course can help here too.

Unlicensed wedding venues For A Celebrant Led Wedding Ceremony

By having the 2+2 ceremony you have opened up your options further. You won’t have to think about a licensed or approved venue where the demand for weddings will be highest. You can have your ceremony anywhere you wish.

A celebrant led wedding ceremony really can be held anywhere. In your garden, in a field, in an unlicensed part of an approved venue, in a wood, on a beach. Anywhere. There may be somewhere you have always thought would be the most perfect place for a wedding or a place with a special meaning to you.

Be imaginative, within reason anything is possible and allow your creative juices to flow and create a new vision for your day.

Image credit:  Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod

Choosing your unlicensed venue

Choosing this route you will be completely unhindered by rules but perhaps a few practicalities. So do try and be practical.  You need to be able to get all your guests there after all. Be inspired by the images on Pinterest and Instagram and let your creativity and vision for your ceremony take you somewhere special and unique.

Do you mind that you will be legally married before your wedding ceremony?

It’s the vows that you make in front of your friends and family that are important. The wedding ceremony is the essence of your whole wedding day and around which everything else is planned.

Your celebrant led wedding ceremony will be so personal and unique that nobody will notice or care whether you are legally married or not. The focus will be on you both, your relationship, your friendships, your story and love. It will be a real celebration of your marriage.

Celebrant led wedding ceremony : To summarise

It really is quite simple to combine a Celebrant led wedding ceremony with a legal Registrar marriage. By completing the legal formalities independently and not being tied to getting the availability of both Registrar and venue it leaves you open to more choices. It gives you flexibility and when there is a huge demand for so few days this is key. Inevitably wedding celebrants are getting busy too. Don’t delay contact one soon.

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What makes a great wedding celebrant? I’m going to give you 10 top tips to follow to help you find one!

A great wedding celebrant has a passion for what they do and cares deeply about the role they play.   Follow these 10 top tips and find yourselves a great celebrant.

1. They have a passion and respect for the role they play

Great wedding celebrants do not consider their role as a job.  They are passionate about the part they play in your wedding ceremony and are committed completely to you as a couple to fulfil the vision of your ceremony.

This passion will be evident in the chemistry that you will strike up together.

They absolutely love and are committed to what they do and respect the responsibility that they are being entrusted on one of the most important and intimate days of your lives.

2. They are great listeners

Great wedding celebrants are genuinely interested in you and your ceremony.  They are awesome listeners.   They are also intuitive and will ensure that the essence of your love is conveyed from the information they glean from you.

They will watch the interaction between you in order to offer a suggestion that you may not have thought about but which turns out to be perfect and absolutely personal to you.

3. They are Empathic

They are highly empathic people.  They have big hearts and are natural givers with an innate curiosity and an ability to understand feelings and perspectives.  Great wedding celebrants use all these traits to craft a highly personalised ceremony for you.

4. They are collaborators

They work closely with you to create a ceremony that reflects your story.  It is a collaboration.  A great wedding celebrant will create a rapport with you so that you feel relaxed and happy to share personal elements of your lives and amusing anecdotes.

They really value your input and will help when you are struggling to express yourselves.

A great wedding celebrant will provide ideas and help about ceremony design and content and help when needed with writing vows, music suggestions and readings.

5. A Team player – with other wedding suppliers

A great wedding celebrant will also work closely with the other wedding suppliers involved in your day. Notably, the event manager at the wedding venues, the wedding photographers, videographers, and any musicians.  They will liaise and coordinate with all these suppliers to ensure a happy, relaxed, and professional atmosphere.

6. They are personable, fun and friendly

They are aware that the entire process of planning a wedding can be stressful.   From your first meeting to the day itself they will make the whole process as fun and relaxed as possible.

They are able to combine the serious element with the fun part of a wedding and actively want you to enjoy it all.

A great wedding celebrant sets the vibe for the day.  They will welcome your guests, introduce themselves to key players and ensure that everyone has a really good time and feels involved.

They work to create ways to include family, friends, traditions,  cultural and faiths.  They will offer experience in dealing with logistics, family dynamics and high expectations.

7. They are great storytellers

A great celebrant is versatile and will bring your stories to life whilst at the same time making the ceremony entirely unique and personal.  Everyone’s taste is different and a great celebrant will not only understand that but expand on it to create a bespoke masterpiece.

A great celebrant will be confident which will show in their face, gestures and body language.  They won’t rush when present the ceremony.  They will allow pauses for comic timing and intonation.

They know what they’re doing and this confidence will draw you and your guests in and make everyone feel connected.

Their choice and delivery of words, tone of voice and unfaltering confidence are all equally important and combined, ensure a truly magical and remarkable ceremony.

8. They are memory makers

A great celebrant knows that the best wedding ceremonies are entrenched in personality and authenticity.  They listen to every word you utter about your story and watch the interaction and body language between you.

The writing process can be lengthy to find the right words to accurately reflect your story with equal measures of sincerity and humour.

A great wedding celebrant will craft a ceremony that reflects it and in so doing will create a lifetime memory.

9. They are calm, professional and organised

A great celebrant won’t let you down.  They are incredibly organised and nothing will faze them.  They will manage any unexpected challenge that may arise on your wedding day before or during the ceremony.  They are reassuringly confident under pressure and always keep a happy upbeat mood.

They are a constant reassuring presence at all times. They will make sure the ceremony flows according to your vision whilst navigating you through what is often a very nerve wracking moment.

They have only your best interests at heart and your enjoyment is their number one priority.

10. A great celebrant is worth paying for 

A great celebrant does not cost much more in context but the difference is striking.   Choosing a celebrant on price alone is a huge risk.

A great celebrant has the power to make the difference between ‘just another’  wedding ceremony and a remarkable wedding ceremony.   This is a fact you probably won’t know until after the event.

So in short contact a great celebrant who aligns with your personality.  They are ultimately going to be a conduit to express yourselves during the ceremony –a memory which will last a lifetime.

Table of Contents

What is a wedding celebrant?

A wedding celebrant is a person who creates and presents personalised wedding ceremonies. That’s it, in a nutshell, but I promise there’s a lot more to it than that, so I am going to give you some detailed answers to the most common questions.

What are the differences between a Wedding Celebrant and a Registrar?

What is a wedding celebrant (learn about me by following this link) compared to a registrar? Is there a difference? Yes, the main difference is the legalities.  A registrar is authorised to conduct legally binding marriages in licensed venues.  A wedding celebrant is professionally trained to provide personal and insightful wedding celebrations and has a unique passion for their job.

The relationship between the wedding celebrant and a couple is trusted, privileged, and special. Working together, they create non-legally binding ceremonies celebrating your love, your relationship, and your story.

How will the ceremonies differ?

A wedding celebrant-led ceremony is flexible, personalised, and completely focused on the love and story of you as a couple.   The tailor-made ceremony puts you at the heart of it.  It will reflect your vision of your day without any rules and regulations. So, what is a wedding celebrant? They are your personal champion, on your wedding day!

You will work very closely together to create a bespoke ceremony that reflects your values and beliefs with no scripts and no templated words. Each wedding ceremony is unique, just as your relationship is unique. A celebrant-led ceremony can be held anywhere because no license is required.

A registrar-led ceremony can only be held in a Registry office or a licensed venue. They are legally binding. You are unlikely to meet your Registrar beforehand and are rarely permitted to stray from the statutory wording.  Furthermore, no wording or music may contain any religious or spiritual references. (Unlike a celebrant-led wedding, where these can be interwoven into your day)

But will my ceremony be real?

So, what is a wedding celebrant wedding ceremony? Is it even real? Celebrants will tell you, ‘Of course, it’s real. ‘  Isn’t your ceremony about much more than just the legal formalities? Your ceremony is about you both making your promises to one another and exchanging rings. The ceremonial part of your day is the real bit. Not the signing of a piece of paper, your legal document. (Keep reading, I’ll tell you how the legal side of your marriage is achieved).

Still unsure? consider these questions.

Do you have a ceremony when you register a baby’s birth?

No.  You have a christening or baby naming ceremony at a later date.

Do you have a ceremony when you register a death?

No.  Funerals are not legal ceremonies.

Absolutely, the same applies to wedding ceremonies. The real part of the ceremony is the exchanging of promises and rings with your friends and family as witnesses.

When and how do we complete the legal formalities?

It’s very straightforward. First, you have to give notice at your local registry office. Then, most couples normally, on a day in the week before their wedding, head back to the registry office to complete the legalities.  It is a very simple affair requiring yourselves and two witnesses.

When should I book my wedding celebrant?

Having answered your question, ‘What is a wedding celebrant? ‘ This is the next important question. This is an important decision and can make the difference between having a ceremony restricted by regulations or an absolutely personalised one. It is therefore essential that you find a wedding celebrant who fits in with your vision and with whom you have a connection.  So don’t delay, speak to a few and research their credentials and experience.

Using wedding celebrants is becoming more and more popular, especially now that couples are realising that there are alternatives to the fairly standard registrar ceremony. So, discussing availability and booking your wedding celebrant should be right up there with securing all your other suppliers.

Which wedding celebrant is best for me?

This is a very personal decision. Your wedding celebrant plays an incredibly important role in your day. They will be the person standing alongside you and guiding you through your wedding ceremony. It’s intimate, a little bit scary, and exciting.  So you need to choose someone whom you can relate to.

You should choose a wedding celebrant who specialises in the type and tone of ceremony you are dreaming of.  During the process of creating your ceremony, you will be sharing personal information about your lives.  Therefore, you must have a connection with your celebrant and feel comfortable with them.

Which brings me back to the original question, ‘What is a wedding celebrant?’ As you are discovering, a wedding celebrant must be many things, but above all, your perfect wedding celebrant must be a great communicator. A storyteller with an eloquent voice and the ability to set the right ambience for your ceremony, whilst also helping to keep you both calm. They should be a reassuring and friendly presence.

Not only will they be supporting and celebrating with you, but they will also need to be highly organised, confident, and knowledgeable. There are lots of boxes to tick, so do your research. You will know when you have found the right person.

Where do I find a wedding celebrant

It’s amazing, isn’t it, how the questions keep coming once the initial question, ‘What is a wedding celebrant?’ is answered! Like all things, nothing beats a personal recommendation, so ask amongst your friends. If they have never used one, look for great testimonials on a wedding celebrant’s website. (You can read mine here if you follow this link)

Ask your venue or the wedding planner you have already booked for their recommendations.  It is likely that they will have worked alongside different celebrants and will be able to give you an honest recommendation.  If the same name keeps cropping up, the chances are you are on to a winner.

Celebrants often exhibit at wedding fairs, which will give you the chance to meet them face to face.  And lastly, from the comfort of your home, and just a Google search click away, head over to a well-established online directory such as The Celebrant Directory, and there he or she might be waiting for you. 

What is a wedding celebrant?: Conclusion

What is a wedding celebrant? You can answer this one now, I hope? A wedding celebrant is the person who will put you both first during the most important part of your wedding day, the ceremony. A great celebrant is a storyteller with excellent organisational and communication skills. Don’t be put off just because a wedding celebrant may be the lesser-known alternative to a registrar. Be a trailblazer amongst your friends. Own your ceremony. Book a wedding celebrant and you will discover the incredibly significant and precious role they play in your wedding journey.

My final word, a wedding celebrant will always have your back!

Once the lockdown is lifted the Registrars are going to have a huge workload and the sheer volume of demand for weddings on Saturdays next year and dates for weddings later this year will inevitably lead to more disappointment. There simply won’t be enough Registrars to go round.

However Registrars are not the only option.   Don’t despair there are some really positive alternatives available to you.

I can’t get a new date with the Registrar for my postponed wedding.

Here is a solution.      Use the a Registrar at your local registry office to get married but request their simplest ‘no frills’ statutory ceremony.

This type of ceremony involves only you and your partner and 2 guests (acting as your witnesses) and is much more time efficient than a Registrar going to a venue.  It can be days if not weeks or even months beforehand.  You will leave this ceremony LEGALLY married.

The next step is to ask a celebrant to conduct your wedding ceremony at a later date.    It will be celebration of your marriage and personalised to reflect your love and relationship.  By doing it this way you lessen the pressure on yourselves to find availability of a Registrar and a venue for the same date.

A wedding celebrant is more flexible than a Registrar

Unlike the Registrar most wedding celebrants only present one ceremony per day.  This immediately makes them more flexible.   They will also attend whichever venue you decide to choose to present your ceremony.  It could be the same venue as your original date or you may find a new venue.   Or even an unlicensed venue which could be literally anywhere so immediately there are far fewer problems with availability.

A Registrar only presents ceremonies in licensed venues

If you have your heart set on a certain date and your venue can’t accommodate this (due to availability) or you don’t want to pay an additional fee that some venues are applying; then there is a very real  and sad reality that you may have to compromise on your venue.  Again a celebrant led ceremony could be the solution.  A wedding celebrant will present your ceremony anywhere.

Image credit: Will Dolphin Photography

You don’t need a Registrar at an unlicensed wedding venues

The answer is simple.  If you are not using a Registrar you don’t have to think about a licensed or approved venue where the demand for weddings will be highest.  You can have your ceremony anywhere you wish.

A celebrant led ceremony really can be held anywhere.  In your garden, in a field, in an unlicensed part of an approved venue, in a wood on a beach.  Anywhere.  There may be somewhere you have always thought would be the most perfect place for a wedding or a place with a special meaning to you.

Be imaginative, within reason anything is possible and allow your creative juices to flow and create a new vision for your day.

Image credit: DHW Photography

Choosing your unlicensed venue

Do some research there really are lots available.  Like the fantastic  Sidbury Manor.   This beautiful Grade II listed manor house will provide you with the most beautiful backdrop for a ceremony be in the landscaped gardens or woodland glades.

It really does open a whole world of opportunity as you will be completely unhindered by rules but perhaps a few practicalities. So do try and be practical.  You need to be able to get all your guests there after all.  Be inspired by the images on Pinterest and Instagram and let your creativity and vision of your ceremony take you somewhere special and unique.

Registrar’s contractual words

The contractual words used by the Registrar are approximately 40 words.  The ‘real’ wedding day is the day you celebrate your marriage with a ceremony.

It’s the vows that you make in front of your friends and family that are important.   The wedding ceremony is the essence of your whole wedding day and around which everything else is planned.

Your celebrant led ceremony will be so personal and unique that nobody will notice or care whether you are legally married or not.  The focus will be on you both, your relationship, your friendships, your story and love.  It will be a real celebration of your marriage.

Finally, if you are newly engaged, many congratulations. Don’t be put off by all the drama around us. This is a perfect time to start planning and, most importantly, enjoy being engaged. You may never have considered a celebrant-led ceremony, but do look into it. All of the above applies to you as well. You’ll be amazed what you can do.

Visit my main website for more details here.