Weddings

Whether you are planning a small, intimate ceremony, or a large celebration with friends and family, I will design a ceremony that reflects the joy in your relationship and the journey of your love story.

I will help you to have the ceremony you really want with readings, poems, song lyrics, or symbolic elements to demonstrate your love and commitment. I can also help you write your vows to express your heartfelt feelings for your partner. I will liaise with your venue and suppliers so that you can be sure that everything runs smoothly on the big day, and so that you can relax and enjoy the celebrations.

I offer three types of wedding that are designed to suit the kind of ceremony that you would like, and that cater for different budgets. I also offer a range of additional services that you can add to any of the wedding types so that you can personalise the day and truly have the wedding of your dreams.

I will work with you to create the ceremony that is just right for you, whether it is romantic, thoughtful and spiritual, fun-loving, celebratory, or all of these!

You can choose to have:

The Stylish Ceremony

This is perfect for your intimate wedding, or where you want a shorter ceremony that still includes all of the kinds of elements that most couples want in their wedding: music, your vows, the ring exchange, the kiss (of course!), as well as a reading. The ceremony typically lasts about 15-20 minutes. You can be sure that the ceremony will be bespoke to you because I will meet you well beforehand for a video or phone consultation.

The Timeless Ceremony

This ceremony is perfect for those romantic couples who not only want all the traditional elements of a wedding ceremony (music, your vows, the ring exchange, the kiss – of course!), but might want an additional reading or poem, or a symbolic element (such as handfasting, a candle ceremony, or even the sharing of wine!). The ceremony typically lasts around 30 minutes. My online consultation with you will ensure that the ceremony is fully personalised, and our online walk through of the ceremony will make sure that everything runs smoothly on the big day!

The Elegany Ceremony

This option offers you the full ceremony package with all the elements to ensure a truly memorable day for you and your guests. I will meet you beforehand online, and again in person, to ensure that the ceremony is just perfect. We will have an in-person rehearsal with you, and your wedding party (if they are able to join you) so that you are fully confident on the big day, and able to enjoy your celebrations. In addition to all the standard elements (music, your love story, readings, vows, ring exchange, symbolic element, and the kiss (of course!), you can sign a certificate as a memory of your special day.

A legalised civil partnership is very similar to a marriage. Independent celebrants can offer couples wishing to enter into a civil partnership a beautiful, bespoke ceremony. A civil partnership ceremony celebrates your love and recognises your commitments to each other. It can include all the elements traditionally associated with a wedding.

I will work with you to design a bespoke ceremony for you, and for your budget. I also offer a range of additional services that you can add to any of the civil partnership types so that you can personalise the day and truly have the ceremony of your dreams.

I will work with you to create the ceremony that is just right for you, whether it is romantic, thoughtful and spiritual, fun-loving, celebratory, or all of these!

You can choose to have:

The Stylish Ceremony

This is perfect for an intimate civil partnership, or where you want a shorter ceremony that still includes all of the kinds of elements that most couples want in their ceremony: music, your vows, the ring exchange, the kiss (of course!), as well as a reading. The ceremony typically lasts about 15-20 minutes. You can be sure that the ceremony will be bespoke to you because I will meet you well beforehand for a video or phone consultation.

The Timeless Ceremony

This ceremony is perfect for those romantic couples who not only want all the traditional elements of a ceremony: music, your vows, the ring exchange, the kiss (of course!), but might want an additional reading or poem, or a symbolic element (such as handfasting, a candle ceremony, or even sharing wine!). The ceremony typically lasts around 30 minutes. Our online consultation will ensure that the ceremony is fully personalised, and our online walk through the ceremony will make sure that everything runs smoothly on the big day!

The Elegant Ceremony

This ceremony offers you the full civil partnership ceremony package with all the elements to ensure a truly memorable day for you and your guests. I will meet you beforehand online, and again in person, to ensure that the ceremony is just perfect. We will have an in-person rehearsal with you, and your ceremony party (if they are able to join you) so that you are fully confident on the big day, and able to enjoy your celebrations. In addition to all the standard elements – music, your love story, readings, vows, ring exchange, symbolic element, and the kiss (of course!) – you can sign a certificate as a memory of your special day.

However long you have been married, or in a civil partnership, a vow renewal ceremony is the perfect occasion for celebrating love and commitment. Renewing your vows with the love of your life, and with friends and family there to celebrate with you, is a wonderful way to mark a significant anniversary, or simply the fact of being in love.

A vow renewal ceremony can be an intimate occasion, or have a party atmosphere with a large group. You can also host it anywhere – a swanky hotel, a beach location, a community hall, a boat, or in your own back garden! You can include any content that want – music, readings, meaningful symbolic elements, as well as, of course, the renewal of your vows and the kiss!

Contact me to discuss what you would like, and I will create the perfect vow renewal ceremony just for you! Ceremonies can be designed to cover a range of budgets, and stylish, timeless, and elegant packages are available.

If you’re a couple in love who simply want a beautiful, modern ceremony as a celebration of your commitment to each other without the formalities of a marriage or civil partnership, then this option is perfect for you. It is a stand-alone ceremony without the need for legal bits, and focuses on your love for each other.

You can hold your commitment ceremony anywhere, and I will help you design it so that it reflects you, and your love for each other. Contact me to discuss what you would like, and I will create the perfect commitment ceremony just for you! Ceremonies can be designed to cover a range of budgets, and stylish, timeless, and elegant packages are available.

What to Expect

Couples planning a wedding might be thinking whether to use a celebrant, or marry in a Registry Office with a Registrar.

Using a Registrar and a Registry Office

A Registrar is employed by the Local Authority, and has to keep to particular wordings for the ceremony – they cannot change this.
You will not be able to choose the Registrar who marries you, and won’t usually be able to meet them beforehand.
You will be limited to a short ceremony, and so this significantly limits what you can include (such as symbolic elements).
You have to marry in the Register Office or a location that has been approved by the Registry Office.
You will not normally be able to decorate the Registry Office with your chosen colours/style, as there are likely to be other ceremonies in the same venue on the same date.
Choice of dates can often be very limited.

Using a Celebrant-Led Wedding

Consultation meeting(s)
Unlimited calls, emails and Skype meetings
Expert support and guidance
Your choice of location (the possibilities are endless!)
A bespoke ceremony created just for you
Flexibility over the length of the ceremony
Advice/guidance with readings/poems
Examples of vows and ceremonies, and support to write your own vows (if needed)
Inclusion of creative or symbolic elements (handfasting; unity candles; sand ceremonies etc)
A certificate signing
Rehearsal of your ceremony with your wedding party.

Many couples choose to complete the legal marriage with a very short appointment at the Registry Office to complete the legalities either shortly before or after their celebrant-led ceremony This means that the celebrant-led wedding ceremony becomes the real celebration of love with family and friends, and is designed completely with you in mind.

Celebrants leave the legal aspects to the Local Authority so we can focus on crafting a bespoke and beautiful ceremony just for you. In this way it’s very similar to registering the birth of a baby: you register the birth at the Registry Office, collect the birth certificate, and then celebrate with family and friends in a naming ceremony or christening. The same happens with the registration of a death: formally at the Registry Office where the death certificate is issued, but the funeral or celebration of life with family and friends happens afterwards with the celebrant.