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When we got married, one thing we were sure about was that we wanted a wedding celebrant to conduct our ceremony. It helped that we knew one already and he was more than happy to provide his service to us. We loved that someone we knew would be doing the ceremony and one couple at our wedding liked him so much they booked him for their wedding the following year.
What is a Marriage Celebrant?
A wedding celebrant, sometimes also called a marriage celebrant is someone that conducts wedding ceremonies outside of the legal requirements of a vicar or registrar.
These wedding celebrants don’t have to stick to the same rules a vicar or registrar does so often provide a much more informal ceremony. They specialise in tailoring everything to you so can mention whatever you like during the vows and ceremony.
A wedding celebrant works particularly well if you’re having a themed wedding or want to avoid being over religious.
Reasons To Choose A Wedding Celebrant
We loved having a wedding celebrant for our wedding. As well as our main ceremony he also performed a handfasting for our evening guests to enjoy later in the day and served as master of ceremonies.
You Can Get Married Anywhere
In the U.K, you have to legally get married inside a building or structure which is licenced by the local council. This is why you’ll often find venues that offer outdoor weddings will have a small pergola or arbour which you have to have your wedding ceremony in.
Using a marriage celebrant (and doing the legal bit separately) means you can have your wedding ceremony pretty much anywhere you like.
The beach. A clifftop. A woodland glade. Mum’s back garden. Grandad’s house. As long as you can legally use the space, this option allows you to get married anywhere you like.
You Can Choose The Vows You Want
I’ll be honest, some of the older wedding vows can feel a bit old fashioned for a modern couple. There is no way I was going to agree to obey my husband for the next god knows how many years!
Choosing a celebrant means you can have them include anything you like in your ceremony and vows. They will probably have a couple of standard sets you can choose between but they can also be changed as much as you feel is needed.
A Wedding Celebrant Can Be A Friend or Family Member
While there are lots of official wedding celebrants out there, who do it as a living, if you really want to you could ask a close friend or family member to do the ceremony for you instead. Again this gives the ceremony a more personal feel and as long as they are happy and confident speaking to a crowd, I think it’s a great way to go.
A Wedding Celebrant is an Informal Choice
We found having a marriage celebrant gave our wedding ceremony a much more informal feel. With your wedding, it’s worth remembering that’s exactly what it is, yours.
So if you’re not a fan of all the pomp and ceremony of a wedding, this could be the perfect way to go for something simple and unique.
It’s Often Cheaper
For us, having a wedding celebrant was actually cheaper overall. We paid for the cheapest registry office ceremony which is around £70. This is significantly less than the cost of a register coming to the venue or getting married in a church.
It then also up opens up cheaper options for both your wedding ceremony and reception as you’ll no longer need a licenced venue.
Are There Any Downsides To Having A Wedding Celebrant?
The biggest downside to choosing a celebrant over having a vicar or registrar is that they can’t legally marry you, so you’ll have to have the legal bit done either before or after the wedding.
Some people even choose to have it on the same day!
If you’ve ever watched ‘Don’t Tell The Bride’ this is exactly what happens on that show. A wedding celebrant performs the bit that we see in the programme and they do the legal bit at a later date after filming has finished.
While this wasn’t something that bothered us as a couple, a few relatives felt they wouldn’t be at our ‘proper, legal’ wedding and were a bit offended. We did the cheapest registry office option of us plus two witnesses. We didn’t dress up and don’t celebrate that date as our wedding anniversary.
Of course, this does mean there are two dates to remember but you could celebrate both if you wanted too!
During our actual wedding ceremony, lead by our wedding celebrant, we did a pretend signing of the register so we still have photos that look like we did it on the day, and lots of our guests didn’t know we’d actually done the legal bit beforehand.
We were 100% happy with this way of doing things, but I do understand some couples may not be happy with the ideas of not getting legally married on the day.