The Legals
The most important thing to remember about independent celebrant-led weddings is that these celebrations are not legally binding. Under UK law, the legal marriage or civil partnership occurs with a local authority registrar, in front of witnesses, before the couple’s special day.
What types of ceremonies can a celebrant carry out for couples in the UK?
The first is obvious – weddings. These are bespoke ceremonies tailored to a couple’s unique love story and values. There is no one-size-fits-all template, and they are highly personalised, often featuring a couple’s choice of readings and music. They may choose traditional elements such as walking down the aisle, making vows, exchanging rings, and, of course, the “you may now kiss” finale. They could, however, choose to do their day differently: walking in together, making children integral to the ceremony, including religious, spiritual, or ancient customs, or creating new ones.
Independent celebrants can also perform commitment ceremonies to celebrate a couple’s relationship and commitment in a non-legally binding manner; they can also design and lead vow-renewals to commemorate significant anniversaries of the couple’s wedding or other milestones.
For the family, there are also non-legal naming ceremonies to welcome a new baby or older child.