I don’t know what an Independent Celebrant is!!!

One of the questions I’m asked a lot is ‘what does an Independent Celebrant do? Why should I have one on my wedding day?

READ ON TO FIND OUT MORE!

This is what a traditional ceremony might look like:

Many couple’s choose to have their wedding in a church setting which will be officiated by a vicar, priest or minister in that religious environment. They will sign the register there on the day or let the registrar know separately that they are now legally married.

If a couple don’t want to get married in church then they might choose to marry at the registry office instead which will be a shorter, civil ceremony. This legal ceremony is carried out by the local registrar. Nowadays, many venues are also licensed to perform marriages with registrars attending to carry out the wedding ceremony on-site. This option is offered by licensed venues chosen by couples.

These are all perfectly normal forms of marriage ceremony however many couples nowadays just want to do something more personal and different. They want to marry in a different setting to those traditionally offered, at a different time or with a different format!

SO, WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

An Independent Celebrant will spend time with you before the wedding. They will get to know you and make sure you have everything in your ceremony that you want! It’s like having a friend lead your ceremony for you. You will have someone you have got to know and trust. Someone who will make sure you are the main focus on that day. You will be the only ceremony your celebrant oversees on the day. A registrar may officiate several ceremonies on the same day which will restrict their time with you.

An Independent Celebrant will conduct your ceremony at any venue, anywhere, whether it’s licensed or not! Do you want to marry outside or indoors, on a beach or in a forest or even in your back garden?

Although couples may not be having their ceremony in a church, they may still wish to have a religious reading or a hymn sung or religious music played at points in the ceremony because this may be part of their shared background. Perhaps they would like to merge some religious or cultural elements into their ceremony. With an Independent Celebrant you can add whatever music, readings and prayers you would like in your ceremony. Ceremonies with religious or cultural connotations are not permitted at a registry office.

COMPLETELY UNIQUE!

Your Independent Celebrant will be there to officiate the wedding ceremony at a time of day that suits you. You won’t have to fit in with the registry office timings. Your celebrant will be with you throughout. They will come early to make sure the set-up is perfect and that everything is in place and ready. A celebrant will liaise with the photographer and the wedding planner to make sure the ceremony runs smoothly. They will cover all the areas you’ll have talked about beforehand to make sure your ceremony is special and unique. No-one else will have the same script or vows – it will be truly bespoke!

Do your married friends and family remember what the words from their wedding ceremonies? Can they remember what the vows were or what readings they had? Lots of couples choose not to have the ceremony and vows that are prescribed for them. Instead, they want much more personalisation for their ceremony.

The ceremony might be easily forgotten with all that’s happening on the day and with everything going by in a blur. With an Independent Celebrant however, the wedding ceremony script belongs to you and you alone. Your celebrant will give you your own copy of the script after the wedding. This is something for you both to look back on over the years and you can revisit your vows and reaffirm them. You’ll be able to remember all that was said about you both, and by you both, with love and affection. You won’t forget your ceremony. It is a completely unique script and it belongs to you by right.

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO?

There are other elements that an Independent Celebrant can advise you on for your ceremony if you wish. Symbolic elements might have real meaning for you and your family which will really add to the joy of the day and delight your guests too!

Have you ever heard of a ‘handfasting’? This is an old Celtic tradition which binds a couple together by literally ‘tying the knot’ and which many modern couples now want to add into their own ceremony.

Have you thought about a ‘wine ceremony’ or having ‘unity candles’? A ‘sand ceremony’? Yes! Beautifully blended coloured sands symbolise the blending together of couples and families. This can be a lovely addition to a ceremony.

How about something completely different? What about a treasure box, or a tree planting ceremony for your wedding? You might choose to have a suggestion box filled with fabulous ideas and wishes from your guests for your future! You might even want to have some read out during the ceremony!

There are limitless additions that a celebrant can advise you on which many couples really enjoy finding out about and add to their ceremony – bringing lots of fun and joy to the occasion.

Traditional is great too! You can have exactly what you want.

GO FOR IT!

Having an Independent Celebrant who knows you, whom you trust, who will work hard to create your unique ceremony and give you all the time you need to make sure it’s perfect on the day, is a must for many couples now. They have spent time and effort preparing for their special day and they want their ceremony to go with a bang. It’s the start of the proceedings. It’s the element that will set the mood and the tone of the day. Having an Independent Celebrant create that for you will be the icing on that fabulous cake.

We wouldn’t have it any other way for our treasured couples and we love it! It’s our passion!

Contact me to find out more and to have a no-obligation chat about what you’d love to have on your wedding day!