Wedding Ceremony

A legally valid marriage ceremony in the United Kingdom must be performed by a Registrar or clergyman who is Registrar qualified. It must be witnessed by a minimum of two people. This means couples must choose between an approved religious venue such as a religious building, a registry office or a registrar who will attend the wedding at a legally licensed venue for wedding ceremonies. All of these venues must be accessible to the general public, because legally anyone can attend your official wedding ceremony whether you know them or not or whether you like them or not.

The most important part of the wedding day is the ceremony. Couples can make the reception as individually themed as they wish but they cannot achieve this for the ceremony, there are laws to follow and vows that must be adhered to.​ You may be perfectly happy to have just the type of ceremony that comes with the vows set down by religion and the law.

A civil ceremony conducted by a registrar cannot include anything that is religious, Such as hymns, quotes, bible references, even songs that indirectly refer to religion.The ceremony is likely to be very quick, with restrictions on readings, music, vows and even photographs. Some religious venues will  not allow photos to be taken during the ceremony or they may restrict the photographer’s access, they may also impose a dress code for you and your guests.

Why not have the ceremony exactly how you want it?

Wedding Celebrants have been in existence for over 40 years. In England, Scotland and Wales you must be legally married first at a registry office, a short 10 to 15 minute ceremony with just 2 witnesses. Once this is done you are free to have the ceremony conducted by a civil celebrant with the vows you want to express, the readings you wish for, the music you wish for, the theme you dreamed of and the place your ceremony should be. Your ceremony could take place on a airplane, or SCUBA diving, perhaps just at home in your garden or at any venue you like, even those without a licence, to conduct a wedding. Your theme could be something from history or from a favorite film, book or genre.You can chose who attends your ceremony because on your special day you should get to please yourselves.