EDITED AND UPDATED MARCH 2023
When thinking about your wedding, you may be wondering, can our celebrant legally marry us? Well, the simple answer to that question in the UK is still a no, sadly, but, things may well change. On the 19th July last year the Law Commission published its long-awaited final report into wedding law reform in England and Wales. It’s recommendations to government focus on moving to an officiant-based system, whereby the officiant (e.g. celebrant, registrar, minister) would be licensed to carry out the marriage rather than the venue in which the marriage takes place. This is similar to the system in place in Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada.
Parliament had until January this year to respond, but at the time of writing this update (March 2023) they still haven’t, frustratingly. I am assured that the six months was merely a guideline and that a response is imminent. So what could happen? Well, they could pass the report as law as it is, they could amend it, or they could reject it altogether. For obvious reasons the celebrant world is waiting and hoping that it is passed, and for anyone planning their wedding, it will open up many more, previously unattainable options.
But that’s for the future, as things stand we, as celebrants, cannot deliver a legal wedding. We cannot declare you married, man and wife. However, what we can do is create a ceremony to celebrate your marriage. This ceremony can include your vows, promises and exchange of rings. In fact, it can include anything you like – nothing has to be included and anything can be left out. It’s that simple.
The legal part of your marriage will have already been done in a simple 2 plus 2 appointment at your local register office. You as a couple plus two witnesses and about £50 is all you need. Look at it this way. The register office is where births, marriages and deaths are registered. The registration of a birth does not take place at the same time as a Christening or naming ceremony. The registration of a death does not take place at the same time as a funeral, in fact, the funeral cannot take place without it having been done previously. And the registration of a marriage does not have to take place at the same time as a wedding ceremony. There is still a desire by many couples to have the ceremony and the signing of the register combined, but it is important, really?
There is an increasing number of couples who now realise, that if you can separate in your mind the two events – signing and ceremony – then the possibilities regarding content and location are truly endless. This is one of my reviews, from a wedding ceremony I wrote and delivered last summer –
“We chose Sue as the celebrant for our wedding after being unable to get a registrar for the date of our wedding, and we are so glad we did! From the very first meeting we had Sue kept in touch and kept us informed, always sending us drafts of our ceremony to make sure it was perfect. We had multiple meetings with Sue so she could get to know me and Josh and really made our ceremony personal. She made sure that our ceremony ran smoothly and everything was organised. So much time and effort was put into our ceremony from Sue and this was made clear when it finally came down to the day and Sue conducted our ceremony. All our guests commented on how nice it was and how lovely Sue was as a person too.
It wasn’t our first plan to have a celebrant led ceremony, but it was so much better than having a registrar and we are so lucky we found Sue. Thank you so much!”
And this is why celebrant led weddings are becoming the “in” thing. Unlike a registrar, a celebrant should never present you with a few templates to choose from. Your wedding ceremony will be personal to you. So when you are asking, can a celebrant do a legal wedding, remember that no, she can’t just yet, but a celebrant can create an awesome wedding.
For more information jump on my contact page, let’s chat weddings.
https://celebrantsuzi.co.uk/contact/