Celebrant vs Civil – We Talk Wedding Ceremonies
So, you’ve set the date to marry the one you love, you’ve chosen your maid of honour and even started looking at wedding gowns. But have you considered the ceremony itself? And have you been able to choose a venue that can give you the wedding ceremony of your dreams?
If you’re not particularly religious or just want something a little less traditional than a church wedding, then wedding celebrant, Frances Cave from Fanfare Ceremonies, is here to tell you all you need to know about other choices available to you…
“It’s simple. A celebrant wedding is completely personal to you. Your words, your thoughts, your feelings, in your special place delivered by someone who you have chosen because they will be able to replicate it all in a way that represents you both as a couple. Moreover the ceremony can take place anywhere, yes anywhere even on the moon if you could get there!
“A civil ceremony, on the other hand, has to take place in a venue that is licensed to perform weddings. These venues can be the most wonderful, unusual places or in your local Registry Office but, in either situation the ceremony is scripted. A celebrant ceremony doesn’t have to stick to a set script; your wedding really will be personal in every way.
“The Legal Bit…Currently a celebrant wedding is not legally binding. Before your ceremony, a visit to the Registry Office, to be ‘officially married’, is required. Be it a celebrant ceremony or civil ceremony, 28 days before you wish to marry you must give notice that this is your intention. This has to be done at the Registry Office bringing with you documents confirming your age, marital status and address. The notice of marriage is valid for 12 months and only valid for the venue named on the notice. The date of your marriage can be changed but not the location without requiring a new notice and the payment of new fees. 28 days after this, an Authority to Marry will be issued. This is the essential, legal document. Your legal ceremony involves bringing 2 witnesses and then confirming your full names, declaring that you are free to marry and contracting words to take each other as a lawful wedded spouse.
“For your celebrant wedding you will need to give Notice and get the legal formalities out of the way, with many couples choosing to do this the day before their celebrant ceremony keeping it entirely separate. You are then free as the birds to follow your hearts and have a wedding ceremony that is unique to you.
“You may have had a cool idea that challenges all the stereotypes of a wedding. Throw caution to the wind. Follow your soul. If your thing is the beach – have your ceremony on the beach, if it’s your home, have it at home. To all intents and purposes you are getting married where you want to and how you want to. Surrounded by all your loved ones, your favourite people, your animals, involving them in your very personal day with as much interaction as you like, in a place that it is deeply personal to you, listening to music which has meaningful association with experiences and moments.”
So, which kind of ceremony are you thinking of having for your wedding? The Great Barn is a licensed venue for civil ceremonies, has a church just a few minutes’ walk away and has 120 acres of beautiful Devonshire countryside, should you wish to have a celebrant wedding in our walled garden or even hidden amongst the trees.
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