Booking a registrar

Hi Laura

Congratulations on your engagement!

Did you know that the Government have plans to allow trained, professional Celebrants to be able to conduct legal marriages in England and Wales soon? (They already do in Scotland).

Celebrants are way more flexible in terms of times, locations and ceremony content than a Registrar, and you can totally tailor a unique ceremony just for you and your partner. Plus, there are more professional trained Celebrants than there are Registrars, and you will only need one and not two, so you’re likely to find someone you like who is available, and it will be cheaper, too. The very main plus point, however, is that you choose your Celebrant, you build up a relationship with them, and you KNOW who is marrying you on the day, it won’t be just whoever is on duty!

Try searching The Institute of Professional Celebrants. I’ve just completed my Funeral Celebrants training with them and I’m hoping to do my Wedding Celebrants course soon.

If you want more info, I am happy to help!

We’re supposed to be getting married this September after postponing from last year, but if the law changes before then, I’ll be conducting our own ceremony. Bride AND Celebrant!

Hope this helps

Ali xx

Yep! We got engaged at Christmas and booked our wedding venue for June 2021 (i.e. 6 months later), and can't book our registrar either! So we're having to just plough on with planning hoping our date and time will still be available once bookings reopen. If somehow it goes, we will just go and get married at the registry office on a random day shortly before the wedding day and then have a blessing on the day rather than the legal service.

Hi Laura

We don’t know for sure yet IF or WHEN Celebrants will be able to conduct the legal marriage bit, but there has been ~significant~ movement in the right direction!

The Government were already considering the legal changes, and Covid19 has really speeded up the process. I have been part of the consultation process as both a Bride and a Celebrant to change the current situation. I am also a volunteer on the UK Weddings Taskforce to help the wedding industry recovery programme and to encourage the Government to open up weddings more quickly to stem the tide of postponements, cancellations, redundancies etc.

When Celebrant led marriages go ahead, they will REALLY disrupt the current situation, where couples can only have the set format and content of the legal ceremony. I’m so excited about this!

Just imagine being able to:

* Choose who actually marries you rather than whoever is on duty

* Find your own perfect location, not just choose from a list

*. Have your ceremony outdoors

*. Choose what ever time works for you - including evening and nighttime ceremonies

* Create a unique, bespoke ceremony which no one else will have or have heard before

I can’t wait to take the control away from the “experts/professionals” and give it to my couples!