Weddings
Weddings
Planning your day
If you are engaged and are now embarking on finding your perfect wedding venue congratulations! It is wonderful that you are exploring the possibilities available to you. Not only do you choose your venue, flowers and music but you also have a say in who conducts the heart of your day, your ceremony.
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Bear in mind that if you are getting married in Scotland, different rules apply so this information refers to venues in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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Your wedding ceremony can be conducted by either a Registrar or a Celebrant.
Both a Celebrant and a Registrar want you to enjoy your ceremony, but the service they offer varies greatly. (Different legislation applies to Scotland)
A Registrar
A Registrar can legally marry you and is employed by the local authority.
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The format and content of the ceremony is restricted by legislation and no religious or spiritual content may be included.
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Registrars will often carry out a number of ceremonies each day so they will insist on keeping to the designated time. The Registrar will arrange to meet you both separately for a pre-ceremony interview, any readings must be approved prior to the ceremony.
Due to time constraints, you are unlikely to meet the Registrar prior to the day of your ceremony. They are restricted to registry offices or licensed premises.
A Celebrant
A Celebrant is self-employed however their ceremonies are not legally binding. Which means currently, if you choose to have a Celebrant Wedding Ceremony then you still need to be married by a registrar.
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By separating the legal aspect of marriage, your ceremony can be about love, not legalities.
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You also have a choice in types of Celebrant, there are Humanist Celebrants and also Civil or Independent Celebrants, both offer non-religious ceremonies, however Independent and Civil Celebrants are also happy to include spiritual and religious elements.
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When working with a celebrant, you have free reign to choose the ceremony you would like, right down to the last detail. Whether it’s writing your own vows, or adding in traditions and rituals which include family, friends or pets. Venue-wise, it can take place anywhere.
Even in a licensed wedding venue if that’s what you’d prefer. This allows for limitless possibilities. From home weddings to picturesque locations in the great outdoors.
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Unlike registrars, celebrants are available 365 days a year and rarely book more than one ceremony a day.
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The legal bit...
The easiest and cheapest way for you to do the legal marriage part is in a statutory marriage registration, sometimes known as a ‘2+2’.
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The reason it’s called a 2+2 is that it will be you two, plus two witnesses. This will always take part at the main register office in your area and is a very short, very simple process. You will need to declare that you don’t know of any legal reason you shouldn’t be married to one another, that you take your partner to be your legally wedded husband or wife, and you sign the marriage register. It’s a strictly no-frills affair!
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These sorts of simple registration ceremonies are often in short supply and are usually only offered on certain days of the week at a certain time. They normally cost around £60, but that might vary according to where you are in England or Wales.
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You will probably be asked why you want this sort of ceremony. Please avoid saying ‘we’re having our proper ceremony with a celebrant’ – it rather upsets some registrars, understandably (just as we celebrants get a bit riled the other way round!) That doesn’t mean that you should lie of course, but perhaps explain that you’re keeping the wedding celebrations personal and separate.
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Some authorities offer what they call ‘personalised’ ceremonies, perhaps being able to do the legal part and then follow it later with a handfasting or sand ceremony for example. They may well tell you about these options when you’re first enquiring, in the hope you might decide to have your whole celebration with the registrar.
Whilst these options are more personalised than a standard registrar-led ceremony, they will still have fixed wording, and you still won’t be able to choose the person who will be leading your ceremony, let alone get to know them.
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Got a few questions you need answering? Feel free to get in touch.