Frequently Asked Questions
Many people don’t realise just how much an independent wedding celebrant can bring to a wedding ceremony. I thought I would look at that by answering some frequently asked questions…….
We already have a registrar booked - is that the same as a celebrant?
No. I am an independent wedding celebrant who runs her own celebrancy business.
I haven’t heard about wedding celebrants, what do you do?
As your wedding celebrant I will;
be able to offer you both so much wonderful choice;
be there for you in the months, weeks and days ahead, offering calm and compassionate support and guidance wherever I can;
be only a phone call or an email away;
be available to have meetings to talk about progress and any other thoughts or ideas you might have had;
meet with you either online or in person, maybe a bit of both;
work alongside you to craft your beautiful ceremony, which can include very personalised vows and committments, either written by you, or me, or both of us together
create a truly memorable celebration of your love and lives together
be able to attend so many different places for your wedding, because I don’t need to be in a licensed venue
and so much more besides
Why do some people have registrars at wedding venues?
At this moment in time, the UK Marriage Law does not permit an independent celebrant (like me) to legally marry a couple.
So, many couples elect to have a short civil ceremony led by a wedding registrar at a register office, where there will be a short standardised ceremony meeting all statutory requirements. Then, on another day, couples have the wedding of their dreams with the wedding celebrant, incorporating so much that is special and unique to them.
If a couple are having a registrar at thier wedding, then they can only attend venues with a license. Once there, again, the ceremony content is quite standardised.
Could we have our family pets at our celebrant led wedding or maybe include our dogs?
Yes, you certainly can (for me) (I’m scared of snakes, but I’m sure we can work out a plan lol). You would need to be considerate of the chosen location though. If you chose a venue that didn’t allow pets, then I can’t do anything about that - maybe that could be an aspect that helps you form a decision about location.
Your dog(s) might be excellent ring bearers - there is so much scope here, it would be great talking about this with you in more detail.
So, we can have a wedding anywhere and we don’t need premises with a license?
Correct - you may still need to ask for permission from the owners of any specific pieces of land etc, but that’s not a venue license.
If we booked a wedding venue, can you still do our wedding ceremony there?
I certainly can. When you are booking your venue, you might be asked if you have already booked a registrar. If you were having a wedding celebrant then it’s OK to say, no, we are having a celebrant on the dayand have a registrar ceremony booked for another time. I have no requirement about when you have your registrar wedding.
If you are having a celebrant led wedding at a venue, then we still have scope for so much choice of content, and we will have to adhere to the advice from the venue about what we can and cannot do.
Are you also a wedding planner?
No, I’m not a wedding planner. If you are having your wedding at a venue, then you are very likely to have a wedding planner as part of your package. If you are having a wedding away from a wedding venue, and if you wish to have a wedding planner, there are many online, who you can contact and book.
We want our weddng ceremony to be upbeat and a bit different - can you help us with that?
I certainly can. It would be brilliant to talk about this in much more depth.
Can I help with anymore questions?
If there is anything else you would like to ask me about, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch; it would be great to hear from you. Please just click on the button below.