Do you know your wedding ceremony choices?
- kellyhcelebrant
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
Do you know your ceremony choices?
If you’re planning to have your wedding ceremony and reception all in one venue, you have a choice about your ceremony, either a;
Civil Ceremony with a Registrar
Personal Ceremony written for you by a Celebrant (Independent or Humanist)
Your next question is probably “What’s the difference?”
A Civil Ceremony with a Registrar is a standard legal wedding ceremony, organised by the council local to your venue. On the day you’ll have two Registrars attend: one will officiate and read the ceremony and the other is to oversee the legal aspects and paperwork. You will not have a choice as to which Registrar will perform your wedding - you will only meet a few minutes before the ceremony begins.
These ceremonies are completely secular - there must be no content, music or ritual which is deemed religious.
They generally have standard wording, with the added bonus of a few sets of vows and ring wording that you get to choose.
You can personalise these ceremonies with readings or poems, and some local authorities will allow you to write your own vows - but the legal wording must also remain included.
A civil ceremony will tend to be around 15-20 minutes long
A personal ceremony written by a Celebrant is a non-legal ceremony, which is written for you and is not standard nor does it have to adhere to any rules.
Therefore religion can be included if you wish, in fact anything can be included (with venue and celebrant permissions)
The ceremony will typically be very personal to you and your partner and include the story of how you got together, what you love about each other and will have the “vibe” that you choose; whether that be traditional or modern, fun or formal, or perhaps even themed.
No two ceremonies are ever the same.
You have the choice as to who is your celebrant; and there are many different styles and personalities to choose from. By the time you are standing next to your celebrant at the wedding ceremony you will have got to know each other really well, making you feel like you are standing next to a friend rather than a stranger.
Celebrant led ceremonies can include lots of content, not just the story but also readings, religious content, group singing and symbolic rituals - such as handtying, a toast with champagne or a fun game.
There’s no set length of ceremony; rather how long you prefer, and how much time it takes to fit in all the content you wish to be included.
There is so much flexibility - once you’ve chosen your celebrant you’ll discuss your wants and vision, hopes and fears and the ceremony will be able to match all of those ideas.
The next step is to decide what suits you best
If it’s a Registrar, you need to book this legal ceremony direct with the local authority for your wedding day (venue will advise which office). Go to the website of your local authority and search birth, deaths and marriages. You need to look for the price and option that refers to a Registrar coming to your venue, and that’s what you will book.
By the way, if there is an additional charge at the venue for your ceremony - this is not a charge for the legal ceremony, this is the extra charge for setting up the space where your ceremony will take place! (Lots of people get confused about that)
In addition to this, you will need to book an appointment at YOUR local registry office to give notice of your marriage. This MUST be done no less than 28 days before your wedding day.
If it’s a Celebrant you choose, you will need to find and book your celebrant, AND book the legal registration of marriage for a separate day.
The simplest form of legal marriage is to book a 2+2 statutory marriage with 2 witnesses. Prices vary from each local authority, and you will find details listed under ceremony fees on each registry office website. (Typically, the cheapest is £56.00). Remember you still need to pay for your notice of marriage and for the certificate on top of that fee. All-inclusive the price could be around £150.00 - £260.00 Appointments for these marriages are always during a weekday, and each local authority usually has a set day and time. The good news is you can shop around - check the prices of other counties and which day their marriages take place, to find the one that suits your needs best.
If you feel you need to have other guests attend your legal marriage, you would be booking a ceremony at the Register Office, and again these prices will be listed on your local authority website. I’d say the typical price for this is anywhere from £500 - £700 (depending on area and day of the week)
If you are having trouble understanding this, please reach out for an informal chat with me and I can explain and even look up these options in your area.
I’m Kelly H Celebrant
If you’ve read this far and feel a Celebrant is the right choice for you; then I’d like to explain my style of Celebrancy to you.
I like to put the fun and laughter into your ceremony, so that we celebrate who you are as individuals and as a team. Your guests will be encouraged to relax and enjoy the ceremony as I tell your story; how you met, what makes you great together - maybe even celebrating those annoying habits that, lets face it, aren’t going to change and are part of who you are.
My objective is to create a ceremony that makes you feel authentically yourself, that you enjoy and that your guests will leave talking about, rather than feeling like it’s over and now they can start to party!
Personally, I feel the ceremony is the whole point for the rest of the day, and I can’t understand why it’s so overlooked as an iconic moment of your wedding day.
If you’re a couple who were thinking you just want the ceremony over and done with, consider this: is that because you find wedding ceremonies boring? If so, this is the way forward. If it’s because you hate the idea of being centre of attention, well I can help with this too - from where you stand to leaving out any part of the ceremony that will make you cringe at the very thought!
Give me a call and let me know your anxieties and I can put your mind at ease.
07827 927 947