What is a celebrant?
A celebrant is a person who performs ceremonies. Ever since our ancestors first gathered around their hearth fires, we have called upon celebrants to connect us in sacred space to honour our rites of passage. Celebrants the world over include priests, monks, priestesses and shamans from many different religions, cultures and walks of life.
In western culture, there are also independent celebrants, who may practise a particular faith or be of no faith at all, who are invited to perform ceremonies for people who want something unique to them, outside of a traditional religious ceremony.
I create many kinds of ceremonies for people from all walks of life, including but not limited to, services for blessingways, baby namings, weddings, vow-renewals, funeral services, healing rituals and more.
Can a celebrant perform legal marriages?
To be married legally under current laws in the UK, your marriage needs to be registered by an appropriate church representative or a registrar. It is also possible to be handfasted legally by the enchanting Avalonian Priestesses in the Goddess Temple at Glastonbury.
These legal proceedings may only take place in venues that have a marriage license – which usually means the venue must be a permanent structure with a roof.
In recent years however, many people have returned to a desire to get married outside, or at a place that is special to them as a couple – from underwater weddings at aquariums to enchanting forests and sandy beaches. This is where an independent celebrant is often invited to create the to-be-weds a magical ceremony full of individual meaning, free of the restrictions of process, place and time.
In these circumstances, many couples prefer to get their legal marriage certificate signed on a separate day, either before or after the wedding service, at their local registration office. This is a very economical option, usually costing less than £150. This frees them from any restrictions on their special day.
When getting married in a licensed venue, including some hotels, country houses and villas (it’s always best to check with the individual venue), some people choose to have a celebrant-led ceremony but with the registrar present so that they can sign their paperwork at the appropriate moment but still have the bespoke ceremony they desire.
There are so many ways of fitting it all together, that it can be really helpful to talk all your options through over a cup of tea. To discuss your ideas further email hello@wildflowerceremonies.co.uk or call 07922 591684, we’d love to hear from you.
In the UK, what is the difference between a wedding service given by a registrar and a wedding service performed by a celebrant?
Usually, registrars perform ceremonies using a pre-fixed script, and must adhere to a strict rule not to include any religious references. A registrar will normally have a set time slot for any service, and will need to perform the ceremony in the venue where the legal papers will be signed. It would be unusual for a registrar to be able to meet a couple before their actual wedding day, so the first time you meet your registrar is likely to be on the big day itself.
A celebrant is able to meet with their to-be-weds long before their wedding day to create the bespoke, one-of-a-kind wedding service of their couple’s dreams. A celebrant has no restrictions about what to include in a wedding service, or where the ceremony is performed; from the surf of the seashore, to a grassy meadow, to a hot air balloon, to your back garden – if you can secure the venue, I can provide the wedding service.
I am also incredibly privileged to be one among a handful celebrants around the globe to be trained in Avalonian handfastings by Priestesses of the Goddess Temple in Glastonbury. This powerful, unscripted ceremony is created around the qualities of the four elements that make up all life in the universe. Will you, beloveds, choose to enter the sacred flower ring, to become one with each other and all that exists, in this, your deeply loving time together here on Earth?
Celebrants and vow-renewals
In the words of the great bard, Love’s not time’s fool, and renewing your vows is a deeply meaningful way to honour an anniversary or the start of a new chapter in your relationship. A vow-renewal is free from legal processes and requires no witnesses, so can be performed just for you as a couple, or in front of your friends and family in the same manner as a wedding, the choice is yours.
Many people who had a traditional wedding like to explore alternative options for a vow-renewal, such as a handfasting or an outside location. An Avalonian handfasting vow renewal is an absolutely stunning ceremony around the wheel of the four elements.
It is also possible to have a marriage blessing rather than vow-renewal, which is equally as beautiful.
For suggestions about how to honour your relationship with a vow-renewal or marriage blessing ceremony, please call 07922 591684.
Celebrants and baby namings
A baby naming can be one of the most beautiful ceremonies imaginable, and is such an important rite of passage for a new soul’s arrival on planet Earth.
The Avalonian sacred baby naming service is particularly lovely, as the beloved child is introduced formally to their family and community in a blessed journey around the wheel of the elements – the building blocks of life.
As there are no legal requirements for baby naming ceremonies, you can be free to have the venue of your choice – many families like to hold a baby naming in the garden of a family home, or even at the place where their parents got married.
There are many ways to create a stunning baby naming ceremony for your little one, to find out more about baby namings, call 07922 591684.
Celebrants and funerals
There are no legal requirements that need to be performed during this most sacred of ceremonies. In a funeral ceremony, it is completely up to you how you would like to honour the passing of someone dear to you. An independent celebrant can create you a ceremony to honour loved one working within the parameters of a crematorium, or in an alternative space that holds meaning for you and your loved ones.
For help and support with funeral ceremony arrangements, please call 07922 591684.
Alternative ceremonies and ceremonies for healing
There are many times in our lives when we feel we want to mark an occasion with ritual and ceremony, but none such exists in the mainstream. As a Sacred Celebrant, I create meaningful ceremonies incorporating ancient practice with intuitive, bespoke ideas. If you are in need of something unique to a situation you would like to celebrate, or are finding hard to navigate, please do not hesitate to get in touch, and together, we will create something just right for your needs.
We welcome your feedback and questions about our services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on hello@wildflowerceremonies.co.uk or 07922 591684, we’d love to hear from you!