What are the benefits of having a celebrant-led ceremony?

So, you’ve booked the venue, started dress shopping and managed to pay that deposit for your dream photographer. But what of the all-important ceremonial part of your event? During the excitement of wedding planning or having a baby, it’s understandable that thoughts turn to practicalities like the all important guest list, decor and all manner of fun stuff. Ceremonies are often seen as the boring bit to get out of the way before the party starts, particularly if you have children present at your event - who wants to listen to the adults drone on, amiright?

This is where having a celebrant-led ceremony comes in. There are many reasons it can be of benefit to your celebration. So, let‘s have a look at some of them...

Sets the tone for your day

Having a celebrant lead your ceremony allows you to set the tone for your entire event. If you’re looking for something quite formal and/or traditional, this can be achieved (think the type of large scale weddings you see on Pinterest with 100’s of guests and tables dressed in muted tones of white and gold, with lots of greenery as centrepieces). If you want a more fun, family-oriented ceremony, you can get family members involved in readings, symbolic actions, or have them sing for you. Or, if you’re looking to have a party feel, lets get the party started with some humour, music and meaningful gestures (like get guests involved in a ring warming). The sky is the limit with celebrant-led ceremonies and it can really enhance your event.

Freedom of venue choice

A celebrant-led ceremony means you have no restrictions on the type of venue you have your event. While in England and Wales, you still have to be legally married in an approved premises by either a registrar or a minister of religion, increasingly couples and families are choosing to do this part with only very close family in attendance before the big day, and the ceremony and reception at a later date. For the ceremony part of the day, you can have an indoor or outdoor venue, in woodland, on a beach or in an unusual indoor venue (for example in Birmingham, some couples choose a local independent cinema!). It means couples can have the day they dreamed of, rather than the day that is forced upon them. There is even currently a consultation ongoing via Parliament at the moment that is hoping to have some of the more outdated laws around marriage/civil partnerships changed to give all in the UK equal choice on how they marry (as Humainst weddings are currently permitted in Scotland and the laws around venues are much more relaxed, and many of our laws date back to the 19th and 20th centuries).

Content that reflects you

Many couples feel that the required wording for marriage (whether carried out via a minister of religion or a registrar) is quite prohibitive and not reflective of them or their lives and relationships. Having a celebrant-led ceremony means that you will work with your celebrant to create a dreamy, fun, happy-tears filled ceremony script based on you and your beliefs, whatever they may be. If you still want some religious content (like a reading or a prayer) then that can be accommodated. Likewise, if you want to read a quote from your favourite tv show (I’m all for Buffy or The X Files quotes at weddings!), play your favourite song (from pure pop to thrash metal) or tell your love story your way then I am 100% here for it!

Have a ceremony that your guests will remember as much as you will

Most people never remember the bit where you say I do, because it is short, impersonal and doesn’t really say anything about you as a couple (or family in the case of naming ceremonies). But having a 30-45 minute long ceremony written about you and for you, including friends and loved ones, as well as some cool symbolic actions like handfasting or jumping the broom, means people will still be talking about your day on the 1st Anniversary, the 5th, the 10th and beyond. It will create some fantastic opportunities for photos of the smiles of you and your guests, and of memorable moments form the ceremony (in case you forget it as it WILL pass in a blur!).

These are just some of the benefits of having a ceremony with a celebrant leading of course, each couple or family is unique and as such there will be things on an individual level that will benefit you. AND you will even get a keepsake script so you have something to look back on and pass on to family! I’d love to hear your questions, queries, needs and wants in the comments - don’t be shy!