A wedding ceremony is one of the most meaningful and memorable times of your life. As such, it should be just what you want, where you want and how you want it.
The laws in the UK are very strict as to where a’ legal’ ceremony can be held. The venue must be licensed to hold marriage ceremonies. This could be at a Church, a hotel or a Register Office often with two Registrars in attendance. The words are very specific that must be said. You can make a limited choice of vows and of poetry. These must be approved by the Registrar as certain words cannot be used. A ‘legal’ ceremony cannot be ‘officiated’by just a Celebrant. Two Registrars must be in attendance and it must take place in a licensed venue.
However there is another alternative. The Register Office can perform a legal marriage at their licensed building for a nominal price. It is called a ‘Two by Two’ ceremony. This involves you going to the Register Office with two witnesses and getting legally married.Afterwards you can then have a ‘Wedding Ceremony’ led by a Celebrant. The great thing about this is that you can hold one of these ceremonies anywhere you want and you can have whatever content you would like. The only thing that stands in your way is your imagination!
You might like to hold your ceremony outside, by a lake, in a forest, in a field or your own garden! You might have a family venue that you want to use or even a village hall. The choice is yours.
Once you’ve decided on the venue, then the fun really begins, with your choice of what style of ceremony you would like. A relaxed or formal day, friends and family taking an active role, readings, poetry, a ‘Symbolic Action’, prayers, music, writing your own vows.The possibilities are endless. The thing is that you will be able to choose what you want to happen. After all it is ‘Your Ceremony. Your Way.’
“Catherine made us feel like we had known her for years, From our very initial conversations to after the ceremony, she was simply fantastic.”
“What can I say…. Me and my husband had a festival themed wedding in a field in Banbury back on the 11th September 2021, due to the fact that it was in a field, this meant that the venue wasn’t licensed. We therefore got officially married in a registry office on the 9th September, and then had another ceremony on the Saturday which was led by Catherine.
It was by complete luck that we stumbled across Catherine and after having spoken to her for the first time, I just knew she was the right person for us! Catherine made us feel like we had known her for years, From our very initial conversations to after the ceremony, she was simply fantastic. Me and my husband had no idea what a celebrant led ceremony could entail and Catherine talked us through all our options, providing us with plenty of ideas. She kept in regular contact with us in the lead up to our big day and, even made contact with all our chosen family and friends who were taking part in our ceremony to assist them with their words.
Catherine went above and beyond for us by purchasing ribbon for the hand tying part of our ceremony, which, for a bride with 101 things still to do before the big day, was a great help - to even calling my husband on the morning of our big day, asking if we needed anything bringing to the field. To which the answer was yes and Kate turned up with several bags of ice for our drinks reception.
Catherine gave us so much of her time and made us feel so at ease, I had no concerns regarding the ceremony, she even traveled over to the field on the Friday evening, so we could have a dress rehearsal. No surprise the ceremony was just perfect. Catherine is so down to earth and friendly and made us feel so relaxed, she also made everyone laugh.
I can highly recommend Catherine as a celebrant and I will certainly be using her services again in the future.”
