In the last 15 years of English Wedding I’ve watched – happily – as celebrant-led weddings have grown in popularity. More and more couples choose independent and humanist celebrants over council registrars for their weddings every year. This shift in ceremony styles goes hand in hand with the rise in really personal and unique weddings, and I think it’s wonderful. If you’ve only just started planning your wedding, and you’re not sure which kind of celebrant to choose for your wedding, I’m here to explain the differences in really simple terms to help you decide.

“Your wedding ceremony should be the most important aspect of your wedding day. It’s the part that really matters, the reason you and your guests are all there and the reason for the reception afterwards – to celebrate what happened in that ceremony.”

Alternative and unique wedding ceremonies with Carmela Weddings London and Surrey (1)

Photo credit: Maureen Du Preez

By Lisa at the fabulous Carmela Weddings

In reality, it is the part of the wedding day that is most often overlooked and more time spent on décor and entertainment than the words you’ll say to each other when you actually get married. I get it. It’s not the fun part and because of the rules around what words have to be said/can’t be said when using a registrar, there’s often not a great deal to decide on anyway other than some music and a couple of readings, right?