Weddings & Renewals Blog
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Where can I get married? Where can I have my wedding?
At first glance, you may think those two questions are essentially the same, but you’d be wrong! Most people don’t realise that the marriage is the legal contract and the wedding is the celebration and that they don’t even have to take place at the same time or in the same place!
If you think about it that makes sense. We register a baby’s birth and then decide at a later date if we want a christening or naming day and we never register a death on the same day as the funeral. The legal bit and the ceremony are at different venues and on different days for births and deaths and the same can apply for marriages too!
Weddings can be celebrated at the same time as the marriage if you choose one of the following places…
- a Register Office;
- premises approved by the local authority such as a hotel;
- a church of the Church of England, Church in Wales;
- a synagogue or any other private place if both partners are Jewish;
- a Meeting House if one or both partners are either members of the Society of Friends (Quakers) or are associated with the Society by attending meetings;
- any registered religious building (England and Wales only);
- the home of one of the partners if the partner is housebound or detained, for example, in prison;
- a place where one partner is seriously ill and not expected to recover, for example, in hospital; or
- a licensed naval, military or air force chapel.
But if your dream venue isn’t covered by the above list, then don’t let that stop you from having your perfect day! If you want the flexibility to have your wedding exactly when and where you want, then simply separate the marriage and the wedding!
So if you’ve always wanted to get hitched on a beach, in a marquee in your parent’s back garden or at another place with special significance for you, then a Celebrant-led wedding is for you! You have complete control then over your big day and there are no rules you have to follow. You can have whatever readings, poems and music you’d like without having to worry about whether it contains too much or too little spirituality! Perfect if you’re blending different cultures and faiths!
Celebrants are also more flexible with their time, so if you want your wedding at midnight on New Year’s Eve, then you’re on! Unlike a Registrar, Kate also has only one ceremony a day, so if there are delays then you needn’t worry about her running off to her next appointment.
Celebrants will also personalise your ceremony to you and may include extra mini-ceremonies to enhance your day. Registrars follow a prescribed script and the length of the ceremony is usually much shorter and far less personal.
The costs of a Registrar attending an approved venue vary by Local Authority and by day of the week and are not dissimilar to a Celebrant’s fee. It is sometimes possible to arrange for a Registrar to attend the wedding venue, but most couples choose to attend the Register Office in the days leading up to the wedding to perform a simple marriage ceremony with two witnesses, which costs just £46.
So if you want the wedding of your dreams and not to have to fit into a prescribed box, then contact Kate who will be happy to make your dreams your reality.
