What is Wedding Celebrant and Why Would You Need One?
In May this year, we photographed Amy and Ben's beautiful wedding at The All Saints Hotel. They chose to have a Wedding Celebrant perform their ceremony and we thought we would shed some light on why you might choose one for your wedding.
A Wedding Celebrant is independent of local authorities and is solely responsible for conducting your ceremony. This means that in England, currently they cannot register your wedding and make it legally binding in the eyes of the law. You would still need to involve a Registrar. So, in addition to your Wedding Celebrant, you would need to book a "small ceremony in a working office" with the Registrar which costs £57 (including the certificate - based on Norfolk Registrar fees) to make your marriage legally binding. You would still need to give notice of marriage with the Registrar as usual. So why would you want to have both?
Wedding Location
There are no restrictions on location for a Wedding Celebrant! You could have a beach wedding, a forest wedding or even get married in your family home if you wished! The world is your oyster! If an outdoor wedding has always been your dream, but your wedding venue doesn't have the right licence, a Celebrant can bridge that gap and make it happen. A pretty big positive in our books! On the Norfolk Registrar's information page they offer a list of over 120 approved wedding venues but only 20 venues are licensed for outdoor ceremonies. This could make a significant difference to making your wedding dreams a reality.
Availability
Prime weekend dates can be problematic when booking Registrars. Sometimes compromise is required on the date or time of your ceremony, pushing it either earlier or later than you might like. Registrars also have a tight time schedule to adhere to and will advise you that should you be late, they may cancel your ceremony. Nobody wants to be late, but this pressure can add additional anxiety on the day. Especially if you have been forced to book an earlier time slot due to limited availability. If you book a celebrant, you may be more likely to find someone that has availability to suit you.
Personalisation
If a Registrar performs your ceremony, there is little personalisation involved. They will always have the final say on what is and isn't appropriate to be included within the short service. There can be no religious content at all in the ceremony so for those who do have a faith but do not want or cannot have a church wedding, this can feel very impersonal. With a Wedding Celebrant, there are no such restrictions on religious content (unless you specifically book a Humanist Celebrant) so you can find someone that will work with you to meet all your requirements. You could even have a Sand Ceremony which is something we have photographed in the past!
Amy and Ben were able to write their own vows and their Celebrant gave a beautiful introduction that incorporated their love story. It made the ceremony feel truly special and had guests engaged and laughing. Nichola was incredibly welcoming and had a calm and confident demeanour which put everyone at ease. Particularly the Bride and Groom. Although the ceremony should be the crucial part of the day, we often find with Registrars that things are very down to business and regimental. People typically want to get that part "over and done with" and enjoy the rest of their day. In contrast, during Amy and Ben's ceremony it felt as if time slowed down and everyone relaxed and became present in the moment. People listened intently, savouring the humour and warmth that Nichola infused into the service. It genuinely felt like a celebration of their love and their future together.
Setting the tone
So many guests commented how lovely Amy and Ben's ceremony was. It was truly refreshing and the rest of the day flowed so beautifully. We always encourage our couples to make the day personal and throw out traditions that do not fit. If your Bridesmaids want to do the speeches, why can't they? If you want your Mum or your big brother to walk you down the aisle who is stopping you? If you don't want to cut the cake in front of everyone - don't! If the Groom doesn't want to do a speech, why put that pressure on? Make choices that will mean your day is 100% enjoyable and 100% you - whether that's a unique and personal ceremony in the forest or scrapping unwanted traditions. Do what you want to do!
Ben and Amy created a heart felt ceremony. There was love and laughter throughout the day, particularly the speeches! It has to be said, we don't think we have ever seen a Groom squirm more than Ben did during his Best Man's speech! Even during our trip out onto the golf course for their portraits we had such a giggle. Here are some snippets from their day, including a special guest appearance from the beloved fur baby!
