Why choose a Celebrant

and not a Registrar from

the Local Authority?

 

•Your venue may not have a Civil Licence in place, and therefore the registrars cannot attend to perform the service there.

 

•If the venue does hold a licence then using a Registrar is a viable choice, but be aware of their limitations. They cannot deviate from the given script and there are restrictions on wording, music and content. They are also unable to perform a ceremony in a location 'without a fixed roof', so if you were planning to say your vows in the great outdoors, they cannot do this for you.

 

•A registrar will simply offer you a choice of pre-set scripts, and fill in the spaces with your names. There is very little contact before the ceremony and they must keep to the scripts without adding any personal details or embellishments. It's all a bit 'cold' really.

 

•They are booked in using time slots and you may feel rushed. Choosing Simply Ceremonies means that I devote the whole day to you and never book more than one ceremony a day, so my time is yours.

 

•You won't meet the Registrar who's on duty on the day of your wedding until the day itself unless you pay extra. I will work closely with the couple for months in advance, getting to know you, so that your ceremony is as unique as you are. We will communicate many times via email, phone and face to face, working together to create a bespoke ceremony that's meaningful, personal and individual.

 

•With Simply Ceremonies you can have your wedding ceremony anywhere you like. Bear in mind that you will need to do the legal bit first, anytime in the 2 weeks before the wedding. Visit the Register Office in casual clothes, with 2 witnesses (sworn to secrecy of course!), and say the Contractual and Declaratory words in order to obtain your licence. This is only to register your marriage legally and is not the ceremony itself. This then allows you have your ceremony in a place of your choosing, and as I will conduct a service that includes your special vows, and the exchange of rings, then it looks like the 'real thing'. In fact, unless you choose to tell them, your guests will be none the wiser.

 

• Anything goes - within the realms of being legal and decent of course! - I can include religious or spiritual elements along with modern day poetry hymns or music.

 

 

Member of FOIC

 

NOCN Accredited