Will we be legally married if we have a celebrant ceremony?

So to have the celebrant-led ceremony of your dreams, you’ll still need to complete the legal bit elsewhere. HOWEVER, at any time before (or after) your wedding ceremony, you can go to your local registry office and complete the basic paperwork required to legalise your marriage or civil partnership. This can take as little as 15 minutes and should cost around £50 but please note, you will need to give legal notice of your intention to marry in advance in order to be able to complete this. During this legal bit, you do NOT have to exchange rings or say your vows - all you’ll need is two witnesses who will need to sign in order for you to obtain the paperwork.

What are the main differences between a registrar-led ceremony and a celebrant-led one?

Registrar-led ceremony

• Legally marries you

• Has to take place in a licensed venue/council house (Registry office) and can only be conducted in the areas of that venue that have a wedding license ie; if the main hall has a wedding license but the library does not, you would only be able to have a registrar led ceremony in the main hall. 

• Ceremony is usually about 15-20 minutes long. 

• Ceremony has to follow a specific format with specific language used to comply with legalities. 

• No personalisation to the ceremony script is permitted with exception to individuals' names and choice of vows from set options. 

• Registrars will often conduct more than one ceremony in a day so will be strict with timings eg; if you're running late, they may say that they are unable to wait as they have another wedding to attend. 

• You will meet your registrar approximately 15 minutes before your ceremony on your wedding day. 

• No religious or spiritual content is permitted (including in any readings if included) 

Independent Celebrant-led ceremony

• Is not legally binding

• Totally personalised and a ceremony written for you, about you. 

• Total flexibility on timings and content

• Choice to say your own vows written by you with help and support to do this

• Complete freedom of venue/location choice. Your wedding venue doesn't need to have a wedding license so you can get married literally anywhere you fancy, at any time of the day.  

• Spiritual and cultural beliefs can be included  

• A celebrant usually only conducts one wedding per day so won't need to rush off if you're running a bit behind schedule. 

• Family members/pets/symbolic rituals etc can be included - both in person or made reference to within the ceremony script

• Readings and poems of any can kind can be included 

• Your ceremony exactly how you want it and including any special moments or mentions

Can we get married anywhere we want or does it have to be a licensed venue?

When you choose to have your wedding, vow renewal, life celebration or naming ceremony with a celebrant, it can take place absolutely anywhere you would like it to. You have total freedom of location, date, time and content of the ceremony. You may want to hold the ceremony at the same venue as your reception which may not have a licence, or in a different part of a licensed venue that the license doesn’t cover.

You could even choose to hold your ceremony in your own back garden!

Can you incorporate some of my religious and spiritual beliefs into the ceremony ?

Of course! Your ceremony will be an authentic reflection of you both as individuals and we will be able to work together to weave any aspects that are important to you into the service.

This is exactly what we’ve been looking for and we’d love to book you? How do I go about this?

Once you have completed the booking form and signed the contract I send over, a £250 non-refundable deposit secures your date with another payment of £250 due on receipt of completed questionnaires (prior to first draft of script writing) and the remaining balance due twelve weeks before the day of the ceremony.
For wedding ceremonies booked within the 6 month period prior to the ceremony, a payment of £500 is due on booking to secure the date with the remaining balance due twelve weeks before your wedding date.

Please do let me know if you have any problems with this schedule and I’ll do my best to accommodate you.

Please note, for life celebration ceremonies, payments to myself will come via the Funeral Director if booked through them or, if booked directly, be due on the day following the delivery of the service.

Are there any extra hidden costs?

No extra costs will be incurred unless stated in your contract with myself, with the exception of the following:

– Mileage of 50p per mile for any location over 50 miles from TQ5
– Travel and overnight accommodation costs for destination weddings either in the UK or abroad
– Alcohol if required to perform a wine or cocktail ceremony or any other large group activity.

What if our ceremony is cancelled due to aspects outside of our control such as Covid-19 or a lockdown?

Please don’t panic. I will always endeavour to accommodate your new date to be able to perform your ceremony. If in the eventuality I am already booked on your new date, I will refund you your balance (dependent on the work already undertaken) or work with you to find a solution.