Why I Will Not Use AI To Write Your Ceremony Script
Let me say this clearly, and without softening it for comfort. I will not use AI to write your ceremony script. Not now, not later, and not secretly in another browser tab while telling you a lovely story about creativity. When you stand in front of the people who love you most and say yes to a life together, that moment deserves more than a tool. It deserves a human being who cares. I am sick and tired of seeing AI generated scripts that lack heart, soul and that creative touch.
Earlier this year, a couple got in touch with me because they had fired their wedding celebrant. They were upset, disappointed, and heartbroken. The script they had been given felt flat and generic. They couldn’t quite put their finger on it at first, but felt that it sounded like it had been written using AI. And the American spelling was a dead giveaway.
The Importance of a Personalised Ceremony Script
It’s not about being anti-technology. I use AI in my business. I use it for some marketing activities, for brainstorming, research, and for admin support. I use it for things that do not involve standing in the middle of someone’s once-in-a-lifetime moment and pretending a machine can replicate meaning.
In terms of ceremony script writing, AI is a slippery slope. It starts with a little help, a little inspiration, a tidy paragraph here and there. Then, before you know it, the entire thing is generated, polished, and delivered with a straight face. The problem is not that AI can string words together. The problem is that it does not know your couple or your person.
It does not know how they look at each other when one of them is nervous. It does not know the backstory behind the joke that makes their friends laugh. It does not know what they have survived, what they have healed, or what they are quietly proud of. A wedding ceremony script is not a content task. It is an act of translation. And the same goes for funeral and naming scripts.
When a couple pays you a considerable amount of money to write a personalised, unique, joy-filled ceremony, it is only right that you put your heart, soul, and time into creating something that is perfect for them. I simply do not believe AI can do that. Not properly, not fully, and not honestly.
The Experiment
Earlier this year, I was working on a ceremony for a couple where one of them worked as legal counsel for an AI startup. The conversation was fascinating. We talked about the responsible use of AI, about transparency, and about where human creativity still matters.
They asked me if I would be open to an experiment. Would I be open to writing two wedding ceremony scripts. One would be generated using AI tools, following a detailed list of prompts they provided. The other would be written by me, in my usual style, with my usual process. I would not tell them which one was which. They would read both and choose the one they wanted for their ceremony.
I said yes. Not because I doubted my own work, but because I was genuinely curious. I followed their prompts carefully and let ChatGPT generate a script. Then I sat down and did what I always do. I read their questionnaires and notes from our conversations. I thought about their story. I played with rhythm, words, and pacing. I listened for their voices in my head.
Thankfully, they chose the one I had written. It would have been a disaster if they’d chosen the other! When I asked them why, they didn’t hesitate. They said it sounded more personal, more creative, and unmistakably in my voice.
This is the part people often push back on. Yes, you can train AI to write in your voice. You can feed it samples, adjust tone, and refine outputs. But there are elements of voice that are not just about word choice. They are about instinct, humour, timing, and knowing when to leave something unsaid. I don’t believe AI has the ability to do that.
My Voice Is Not A Template
My celebrant voice is not a template. It is not a formula to be plugged into a machine. It has been shaped by years of listening, of watching people, and of standing in rooms where emotions are thick and unpredictable.
When I write a wedding ceremony script, I am not just assembling sentences. I am making choices. I choose what to highlight, what to soften, what to celebrate loudly, and what to hold gently. Those choices come from experience and empathy.
AI is impressive. It is fast, confident, and convincing. That is precisely what makes it dangerous in this context. It can sound good enough. And good enough is not good enough when someone has trusted you with one of the most important moments of their life.
The Ethical + Legal Reality
There is another layer to this conversation that clients are rarely made aware of, and it matters more than most people realise. Ethics and legality.
When you share your personal information for a ceremony, your names, your story, your family dynamics, private moments, and significant dates, that information does not belong in an AI system. Under data protection laws such as GDPR, this kind of detail is considered personal, and often sensitive, data. It deserves to be handled with care, confidentiality, and respect.
Many AI tools store, process, and sometimes reuse the information entered into them. That means your story could be uploaded into a system your celebrant does not control.
It also raises important questions about trust. When you hire a celebrant, you are hiring a person to write and deliver your ceremony. Not a third-party tool. Not a platform with unclear data policies. Passing your story to AI without transparency undermines the agreement you thought you were entering into.
This is not just about style or creativity. It is about responsibility. When people share their stories, often during emotionally significant or vulnerable moments in their lives, they are placing trust in the person guiding that ceremony. That trust deserves to be protected, not outsourced.
What I See As A Mentor
As a mentor with the Academy of Modern Celebrancy, I train students to write wedding ceremony scripts. This is where things get very real, very quickly. I sometimes see students use AI, and it is very obvious when they do.
The scripts have a certain sameness. A smoothness that lacks warmth and creativity. We run all scripts through AI and plagiarism checkers to ensure that they are genuine. Not because we are trying to catch people out, but because integrity matters.
If you have paid a significant amount of money to be trained as a celebrant, why would you remove your ability to be creative and write personal ceremonies by using a tool instead? If a couple has contracted you to write their wedding ceremony script, why would you outsource the very thing they hired you for?
It comes across as lazy. Not innovative. Not efficient. Not clever.
The Cost Of Cutting Corners
There is a cost to cutting corners in this industry. Sometimes that cost is invisible at first. Clients might not realise why the ceremony felt off. They just know it didn’t land.
Other times, like with the couple who contacted me, the cost is immediate and emotional. Trust is broken. Excitement turns into anxiety. And a moment that should feel expansive suddenly feels small.
A wedding ceremony script is not just a document. It sets the tone for the entire day. It tells guests who this couple or this person is and what matters to them. If that script feels generic, the ceremony feels generic. And as a celebrant I NEVER want to come across as generic!
My Line In The Sand
Everyone gets to draw their own line with AI. This is mine. I will not use it to write ceremony scripts. I will not pretend it is the same as human creativity. And I will not apologise for believing that some things should remain human-led.
You are not paying me for words alone. You are paying for care, discernment, creativity, and presence. You are paying for someone to sit with your story and treat it with respect.
If that means my process takes longer, good. If it means I write fewer ceremonies, also good. Because the work deserves time.
Final Thoughts
This is not a manifesto against technology. It is a defence of craft. A wedding ceremony script should feel like it could only belong to one couple, on one day, in one place.
AI has its place. This is not it. When it comes to ceremonies, I choose heart over speed, voice over convenience, and humanity over hype.
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