Marriage Reform: Why Independent Celebrants Must Be Included (And What It Means For Your Wedding)

Picture this: You’ve found the love of your life. You’re planning your dream wedding. You want to get married outdoors, under the oak tree where you had your first picnic together. You want your ceremony to reflect both your cultures, include elements from your heritage and faith that actually mean something to you, and be led by someone who truly knows your story.

Here’s the problem: under current UK law, that ceremony won’t be legally binding.

Welcome to the bizarre reality of marriage law in England and Wales, where the legal framework governing one of life’s most significant moments is based on legislation from 1836. Yes…1836.

But here’s the good news: change is coming. In October 2025, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that the UK Government intends to reform wedding law. The question now isn’t whether reform will happen, but what it will look like. And for couples dreaming of personalised, meaningful ceremonies, and for celebrants like me who create them, one issue matters more than any other.

Will independent celebrants be included?

The Importance of Marriage Reform for Modern Couples

Right now, if you want to get legally married in England and Wales, you have two options:

Option 1: A civil ceremony with a registrar in an approved venue (think registry offices or licensed venues). These ceremonies can’t include any religious or spiritual content. They follow a standard format. And while registrars do their best, they’re often conducting multiple ceremonies a day. There’s limited time for making it personal to you.

Option 2: A religious ceremony conducted by an authorised minister in a registered place of worship. This works beautifully if you’re part of that faith community. But what if you’re not? What if you’re from different faiths? What if you’re spiritual but not religious? What if you just want the freedom to design your own ceremony?

For the tens of thousands of couples who don’t fit neatly into either category, the current system offers an unsatisfying workaround: have a quick, impersonal legal ceremony with a registrar, then hire an independent celebrant for a separate, meaningful ceremony that has no legal standing.

Two ceremonies. Two lots of admin. Two different days, or the same day split into legal obligation and actual celebration. It’s expensive, exhausting, and it’s discriminatory.

The Law Commission spent years researching this issue and published their recommendations in 2022. They concluded that our marriage laws are “outdated, restrictive and unfit for modern society.” The main recommendation is simple but game-changing: shift from regulating venues to regulating officiants.

This single change opens up incredible possibilities. Couples could marry anywhere. Ceremonies could be truly personal. And crucially, a much wider range of officiants could be authorised to conduct legal marriages.

What Marriage Reform Could Look Like in Practice

The Law Commission’s proposed model is quite straightforward. Instead of approved buildings and rigid categories, we’d have approved people.

Religious ministers who currently conduct legal marriages would continue doing so. Humanist celebrants, who represent a specific non-religious belief system, would be legally recognised (the government has already confirmed this will happen). Registrars would continue their vital role.

And then there’s the group that could transform wedding choices in this country: independent celebrants.

Under the proposed system, independent celebrants like me would apply to the General Register Office to become authorised officiants. We’d need to prove we’re suitable for this role through background checks. We’d complete training on the legal aspects of marriage. We’d pay annual registration fees. We’d follow a code of conduct. We’d do ongoing professional development.

In other words, we’d be properly regulated professionals, just like registrars and other authorised officiants.

Here’s what this would mean in practice:

You could get married on a beach, in a woodland clearing, in your own garden, or anywhere that holds meaning for you. Your ceremony could include elements from multiple faith traditions if you’re from different backgrounds. You could include prayers, blessings, or spiritual elements without being tied to a specific religious institution. Your celebrant would spend time getting to know you, creating a ceremony that tells your unique story. And most importantly, it would all be legal, done in one ceremony, on one day.

This isn’t some radical, untested idea. Australia has been doing this for decades. In 2021, over 80% of Australian couples chose an independent celebrant (they call them Commonwealth-Registered Celebrants) for their legal wedding. New Zealand has a similar system. So does Canada. The Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) have successfully implemented this model right here in British waters.

It works. It’s not complicated. And couples love it.

Why Independent Celebrants Must Be Included in Marriage Reform

Now, here’s where things get critical. The government has confirmed that humanist celebrants will be included in the reform. That’s fantastic news for couples who identify with humanism as a belief system.

But what about everyone else?

Humanism is a non-religious belief system based on reason, ethics and human agency. Humanist weddings are entirely secular. They don’t include religious or spiritual references, prayers, or blessings. This creates a valuable option for couples who identify as humanist.

But here’s what concerns me: requiring couples to identify with a specific belief system (whether that’s Christianity, Islam, Humanism, or anything else) in order to have a personalised, meaningful legal wedding is still discriminatory.

Many couples don’t fit into neat categories. They might be:

• From different faith backgrounds wanting to honour both traditions
• Spiritual but not religious
• Non-religious but happy to include spiritual elements that matter to family
• Simply people who want a personalised ceremony without having to sign up to any belief system

Should these couples have to identify as “humanist” just to have the wedding they want? Would we think it acceptable to tell someone they need to identify as Christian to get married the way they’d like? Of course not.

This is why independent celebrants are essential to true marriage reform.

Independent celebrants don’t impose a worldview. We adapt to yours. We’re trained to create ceremonies that honour whatever beliefs, values, and traditions matter to you, without requiring you to fit a specific mould. We work with atheists and spiritual seekers, interfaith couples and those who just want something that feels authentically them.

The 2021 Census showed that 37% of people in England and Wales identified with “no religion.” But that doesn’t mean 37% are humanists. That category includes an incredibly diverse range of worldviews, from atheism to undefined spirituality to “it’s complicated.” These people deserve wedding options too.

In 2025 alone 50% of my wedding ceremonies were for couples with mixed-faith or spiritual beliefs. Weddings that blended Christian and Jewish traditions, others that included Hindu elements, Pagan and a wedding for a Catholic/Baptist couple.

The Human Rights Argument

Article 9 of the Human Rights Act states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance.”

This isn’t just about religious freedom. It’s about the freedom to express your beliefs, whatever they may be, on one of the most significant days of your life.

If reform only includes humanist celebrants, it creates a new form of discrimination. It tells couples that they can only have a personalised, meaningful legal wedding if they’re willing to identify with a specific belief system. That’s not freedom. That’s just replacing one set of restrictions with another.

Including independent celebrants isn’t about commercialising marriage (we all charge fees, including registrars and humanist celebrants). It’s not about lowering standards (we’re already professionally trained and would welcome GRO regulation). It’s about genuine choice and inclusion.

We’re Ready and Proven

Here’s something that might surprise you: there are already thousands of professionally trained independent celebrants working in the UK. The sector has been becoming more professional for over two decades, with formal qualifications available since 2002.

Research from 2020 found that over 10,000 independent celebrant weddings were happening each year in England and Wales, and that number has grown significantly since then. Almost all the celebrants surveyed had received professional training, with many holding formal qualifications. The vast majority said they’d welcome legal recognition and GRO regulation.

We’re not asking to be included so we can start learning on the job. We’ve been doing the job for years. We’re asking to be included so couples don’t have to split their wedding into “legal” and “meaningful” parts.

Professional celebrant bodies already require members to:

• Complete recognised training programmes
• Hold Professional indemnity Insurance
• Follow codes of conduct and ethics
• Engage in continuing professional development

When independent celebrants talk about wanting to conduct legal marriages, we’re not asking for a free-for-all. We’re asking to bring our existing professionalism into the legal framework, with all the additional training and regulation that requires.

What This Means for Couples

If you’re planning a wedding, here’s what inclusive marriage reform could mean for you:

Freedom of location: Marry anywhere that’s special to you, not just approved buildings. That forest, that beach, that family garden, your favourite art gallery – all possible.

Personalisation: Work with a celebrant who has the time to really get to know you. Have a ceremony that includes your favourite poems, songs, and readings. Include cultural and faith traditions that matter to your families.

Flexibility: Mixed-faith couples could have a ceremony that respectfully honours both traditions. Want to include your dog as ring bearer? Go for it.

One ceremony: No more registry office formalities followed by the “real” ceremony. One beautiful, legal, meaningful celebration.

Better value: Instead of paying for a registrar AND a celebrant, you’d work with one professional who handles both the legal and ceremonial aspects.

What This Means for Celebrants

If you’re a celebrant or considering training as one, reform would be transformative:

Legal recognition: Your work would finally have the legal standing it deserves. No more couples needing to explain to elderly relatives why they’re having “two weddings.”

Professional recognition: Being regulated by the GRO would cement celebrancy as a recognised profession, not a nice-to-have add-on.

Clarity for clients: Couples would understand that a celebrant-led ceremony can be their legal marriage, making it easier to explain what you do and why you’re worth the investment.

Growth opportunities: As awareness grows that legal marriages can be celebrant-led, the demand for professional celebrants would increase significantly.

Fair competition: Right now, registrars can conduct legal marriages but their workload means limited personalisation. Humanist celebrants can conduct legal marriages in Scotland but not England and Wales. Including independent celebrants would level the playing field and allow couples to choose based on who’s the best fit for them.

The “Dignity and Solemnity” Question

Some have questioned whether independent celebrant weddings would maintain the “dignity and solemnity” of marriage. I need to be very clear about this.

Nobody takes marriage more seriously than the couples who choose celebrant-led ceremonies. These are people willing to jump through extra hoops, have two ceremonies, and deal with legal complexity because they care so deeply about making their wedding meaningful.

And nobody takes their role more seriously than professional celebrants. Research funded by the Nuffield Foundation found that “independent celebrants were the most likely to mention not only that they had been trained but also that such training had led to a formal qualification.”

The dignity of marriage isn’t about following a standard script in an approved building. It’s about two people making a profound commitment to each other in a way that’s authentic and meaningful to them. That’s what independent celebrants help create.

Under the proposed system, independent celebrants would be representing the GRO, just like registrars. We’d follow the same legal requirements. We’d be subject to the same standards. The difference is, we’d bring personalisation and flexibility that time-pressed registrars simply can’t provide.

If anything, authorising independent celebrants would strengthen public trust in marriage by making it more accessible to more people, while maintaining strong professional standards.

What Happens Next

The government has confirmed it will hold a public consultation on the details of reform this year. This is our opportunity to make sure independent celebrants are included.

But consultations don’t happen in a vacuum. The government needs to hear from real people that this matters. They need to hear from couples who’ve had to split their weddings into legal and meaningful parts. From celebrants who’ve seen firsthand how much personalised ceremonies mean to people. From anyone who believes that freedom of choice in how you marry should be a basic right.

Your Voice Matters: Get Involved

This is where you come in. The Give Couples Choice Movement is a collective of organisations and individuals working to ensure independent celebrants are included in wedding law reform.

Whether you’re planning a wedding, married someone who wanted something different, working as a celebrant, or you just believe in fairness and freedom of choice, we need your voice.

Here’s how you can help:

Write to your MP: This is the single most effective thing you can do. MPs pay attention to constituents who write to them about issues that matter. You can find your MP and their contact details at WriteToThem.com. Tell them your story. Explain why inclusive reform matters to you. Ask them to support the inclusion of independent celebrants in the upcoming legislation.

Share your story: If you’ve had a celebrant-led wedding (even though it wasn’t legal), share your experience on social media. Use the hashtag #GiveCouplesChoice. Let people see what these ceremonies mean to real couples.

Join the movement: Visit the Give Couples Choice Movement website to learn more, access template letters for your MP, and stay updated on the campaign’s progress. You’ll also find a policy paper outlining how widespread reform could work in practice.

Talk about it: The more people understand what’s at stake, the stronger our collective voice becomes. Talk to friends getting married. Share this post. Start conversations about why wedding choice matters.

Respond to the consultation: When the government consultation opens, make sure you respond. 

The Bottom Line

Marriage reform is coming to England and Wales. After nearly two centuries of outdated law, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a system that works for everyone.

But “everyone” has to actually mean everyone. It can’t mean “everyone who fits into these specific belief categories.” It has to mean couples who don’t identify with any belief system, couples who want to blend multiple traditions, couples who just want their wedding to be uniquely theirs.

The only way to achieve that is to include independent celebrants as authorised officiants, properly regulated and professionally accountable, working alongside registrars and belief-based celebrants to offer genuine choice.

Australia has proven this works. New Zealand has proven this works. Jersey and Guernsey, right here in British waters, have proven this works. It’s not experimental. It’s not risky. It’s just fair.

The Law Commission has done the research. They’ve provided the framework. The government has committed to reform. Now we need to make sure that reform lives up to its promise of fairness, equality, and respect for individuals’ wishes and beliefs.

That only happens if all celebrants, including independents, are part of the picture.

So whether you’re a couple dreaming of a wedding that’s truly yours, a celebrant who wants to offer that legally, or someone who simply believes in freedom of choice, please get involved.

Write to your MP. Join the Give Couples Choice Movement. Make your voice heard.

Because your wedding day should be about celebrating your love and commitment in a way that feels right to you. Not navigating Victorian-era bureaucracy.

We need to make sure the law finally catches up with what couples actually want and need.

We need to give couples choice.

>>>Take Action Now!<<<

Together, we can make sure marriage reform includes everyone.

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Steve + Sam Photography

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