13/05/2022
Eric Gill Training
Questions you may be asked …
What does a Celebrant do at a Civil Wedding?
Put simply, a celebrant is a person who performs and officiates formal ceremonies –such as weddings, vow renewals, baby naming, or even funerals and memorials. By booking a Celebrant for your service, you can have the vows you want, the music you want, and the readings you want.
Is my Celebrant Wedding Ceremony legally binding?
No. You will need to arrange for a Civil Partnership Registration in the Registrar's office with two adult witnesses to legally register your marriage. This is the 'admin' part of the process and does not need to be treated as a formal ceremony.
And therefore, a Celebrant Wedding Ceremony is not a legally binding ceremony. It is about celebrating your love and relationship in a way that is special to you when you wish to confirm your commitment to each other without legal ties.
What is the difference between a registrar and a celebrant?
The difference between Registrars and Celebrants in a Nutshell. Registrars have the power to marry you in the eyes of the law. Celebrants will help you to create a personalized bespoke ceremony, taking place wherever you would like. You can include personalized vows, live music, and family.
Celebrant-led ceremonies can take place in any location, at any time and they can take any format or style you want with content that's special and meaningful to you.
Celebrant ceremonies are becoming more and more popular here in the UK, If you have your heart set on a specific location to tie the knot or would like a more personalized reading at your ceremony, you may want to consider using a celebrant for your big day.
Can a ceremony with a wedding celebrant be held both indoors and outdoors?
Yes, it can, and with trends for outdoor weddings on the rise, a celebrant can often unlock the potential within a dedicated wedding venue as celebrant ceremonies are not required to take place underneath a permanent licensed structure. “The vast majority of weddings are outdoors (with marquees as a wet weather backup plan), and this provides couples with much more flexibility in terms of setting.”
If you opt for an outdoor celebrant ceremony, then you can position yourselves anywhere so long as the wedding venue has granted permission for you to do so.
Why not take advantage of fantastic views at a venue, have these as the backdrop to your day, and use the inside space for the wedding breakfast and evening reception? Explore all possibilities for ceremony settings at your venue and remember it does not need to be licensed if using a celebrant – you really can have your dream location!
Are there specifications in terms of where, when, and what time a wedding celebrant ceremony can take place?
Not at all, you can select the time YOU want, without restriction on time slots or indeed location.
Many couples will still opt for an early afternoon ceremony time, but some couples prefer an altogether different plan for their celebrations and will perhaps have a roof terrace ceremony under the stars followed by cocktails and dinner for example.
More and more couples are thinking outside of the box and doing away with tradition, and indeed opt for something a little more ‘unexpected’ and unique to them. A celebrant wedding ceremony offers couples complete flexibility!
How long does a ceremony with a wedding celebrant take?
This varies, depending on the content of your ceremony. “The vast majority of ceremonies are around half an hour and are created with a fantastic flow. Celebrant speaking parts are always creatively punctuated with guest readings or involvement in some other way so that the ceremony feels like everyone there has a role in the proceedings, and indeed in supporting the couple.
It becomes a lovely experience rather than someone just standing and reading to a group of people which can otherwise feel quite cold by comparison.”
Can guests do readings in a ceremony with a wedding celebrant?
Of course! “Celebrants actively encourage it and have lots of lovely ways in which this can be done. Guests can select a popular piece of poetry online, or they might want to write something personal about the couple that is shared on the day, but there are lots of other options too. Celebrants work with their couples and ensure that the content accurately reflects who they are and that those doing readings are comfortable with everything on the day too.
Celebrants love to use guest involvement to really add something a little bit special to the ceremony, and depending on the couple, can add elements of religion, acknowledge a cultural background, or even a family tradition.
Some Celebrants include many different rituals into a ceremony, numerous Celtic mini-handfasting variations, the creation of marriage time capsules, sand ceremonies, and a whole host of other lovely activities too! Celebrants really can make it truly personal, and unique to the couples.”
Can any type of music be played during a celebrant ceremony?
Yes indeed. A celebrant will talk you through various music options with the couple in advance. They may want to walk down the aisle to their favorite song, or sign their certificate with their favorite band playing in the background?
There are no restrictions when it comes to music during a celebrant ceremony at all and couples can opt for something that they both love, and not feel limited in their choices.
If one or both of us have been married before, can we still have a ceremony with a wedding celebrant?
“Absolutely. This has no bearing whatsoever on your ceremony with the celebrant.” Most celebrants will happily work with couples and families with varying circumstances and proudly embrace diversity.
Will we need to sign any documentation during our celebrant ceremony?
Signing documentation during the ceremony is not obligatory but many couples do like to sign a commemorative certificate which can then be presented to them with a beautiful keepsake folder at the end, with copies of their personal vows and readings inside too.
You can even choose to have ‘witnesses’ join you to complete the signing if you wish, and this is a nice way of involving other family members that perhaps were not part of the legal proceedings.
Would we get to write our own vows, or would the wedding celebrant read them to us?
“This is a personal part of the ceremony, and a celebrant would tend to try to keep this as modern and relevant as possible. There are three styles that can be used, the “I do” that many people expect to hear, the ‘repeat after me’ vows where a celebrant reads a sentence and this is repeated by the groom than the bride, and of course, personal vows written by the couple and then read to one another during the ceremony.
Many couples like to do all three and weave the words into the flow of the ceremony, but some prefer only one or two.
Celebrants can provide lots of great ways in which a couple can deliver their personal vows and are happy to help their couples in terms of creating something special, and ensuring they are of similar in length and tone.
So, what does a person need to become a good Wedding Celebrant?
• Good literary and writing skills with the ability to write concisely, grammatically, and effectively.
• A good public speaking voice and the confidence to speak to groups of people from two to several hundred.
• Smart appearance.
• A mature, calm, reassuring manner.
• Sensitive interviewing skills.
• Availability at weekends, when ceremonies may be required.
• A genuine interest in providing a quality service and improving the choice and quality of ceremonies.
• Access to, and ability to use, email is essential.
• Use of a computer and confident word processing skills, with good experience of using Microsoft Word (or similar package) and a working knowledge of Microsoft Excel or similar.
If you are concerned about your IT skills, then click below for a more detailed list of requirements.
Then, it's Knowing how …. Knowing how to put together the essential structure of a ceremony including appropriate inclusion of both secular and religious content and appropriate music and poetry.
• Knowing what constitutes a truly personal ceremony and awareness of potential pitfalls.
• Knowing how to interview clients to obtain relevant information and effectively translate the information into a well-written ceremony script.
• Knowing how to deliver a ceremony with confidence and sensitivity.
• Knowing how to make the best use of space available at ceremonies and understanding movement and logistics.
• Knowing how to present clients with a beautifully presented souvenir script to keep.
• Knowing how to set up, promote and administer your business
• Knowing how to explain the ceremonies that you conduct to others and understand the current legal situation about ceremonies in the UK.
When you know all the above - you are ready!
Eric is ready too - to train you!
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