Registrar not available? Don’t panic! I can help!

Over the past couple of months I’ve had a number of wedding enquiries from couples who have not been able to find a Registrar to officiate their wedding at their venue on the required date.

This was bound to happen!

As we slowly emerge from lockdown, weddings are back on and Registration Offices in many parts of the country are struggling to clear the backlog of weddings and accommodate new appointments especially over the busy Summer period.

Never fear! Celebrants are here to save the day!

By separating the legal registration of your marriage from the celebratory aspects of your wedding you can have the wedding you’ve always wanted. How does this work you ask?

First off, take care of the legal registration of your marriage by asking your Registration Office for what is commonly termed as a ‘Simple’ Ceremony or 2+2 Ceremony.

To do this pop down to your Registration Office on the agreed date and time where you’ll sign the register in the presence of the Registrar and a couple of witnesses. You do not have to exchange vows or rings. This is the basic requirement to register your marriage. It typically costs around £49-55.

Then you are free to celebrate your marriage with a celebrant-led ceremony at your venue whenever you like. That said, it’s worth noting you can have a celebrant-led ceremony before OR after you’ve taken care of your legal marriage because celebrant-led ceremony is not legally binding.

There are zero restrictions with a celebrant-led ceremony so you can have your ceremony at anytime of day, anywhere (indoors or outdoors!) and can say anything you want! Celebrants perform ceremonies in both licensed and unlicensed venues, parks, gardens, private properties, the beach and more! I’m even doing a ceremony on a boat this summer!

Celebrants offer a very different service to a registrar. As I’ve mentioned, we don’t cover the legalities. Instead, we offer a unique opportunity to honour and celebrate your marriage with a ceremony that has been specially written with you in mind.

There is no prescription to a celebrant-led ceremony. You don’t have to follow a traditional ceremony flow unless you want to.

I’ll take time to get to know you. We’ll meet up and discuss your plans, get to know your story from your individual perspectives, discuss your hopes and dreams for the future and what you do and don’t want in your ceremony.

I love it when couples come to me and say they want to have a ceremony that is completely different because it gives me the opportunity to really use imagination and creativity to create something that will blow your socks off and create a truly memorable experience for you and your guests. No two ceremonies are the same!

And I’ll be there to support you every step of the way – and not just with your ceremony. Often I get asked for advice on how to handle tricky situations!

So when a registrar tells you they can’t do your date – don’t panic!

Call me and let’s have a chat about how a celebrant will level-up your celebrations!