• Can you marry us? Are your ceremonies legal?

The simple answer is  'no'. Only Registrars or Ministers of religion can currently conduct legal marriage ceremonies in England. Celebrant-led ceremonies have no legal standing. If you want a Wedding Ceremony you will need to be married already. If you would like to discuss this please phone or email me to discuss your options.
( You may have seen that there has been a review of the current law, the recommendations, if accepted into Law, will allow more flexibility. You can read more here https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/weddings/ At present I am unable to marry you, but may well be able to in the future).

​

• We have already booked the Register Officer to marry us at our venue but they won't let us sing a hymn or have a prayer. What can we do?

You can still have the Registrar marry you in your chosen venue. They can simply conduct your marriage and leave. Once they have gone I can continue your celebration. While a Registrar must by law conduct a secular ceremony, there are no restrictions on what I can put in a wedding ceremony. I am happy to explain this in more detail if that would be helpful.

​

• Where can we hold our ceremony?

The limits on this are practical rather than legal. In theory you can hold a ceremony in your home, in your garden, in a premesis licensed for weddings, in the function room of a pub, a village hall, a cricket club, a barn, a field or wood .... If you have a particular venue in mind and are unsure please do contact me.

​

• Are your ceremonies humanist? Or secular? What about religion?

I believe that what I believe should not impact your ceremony! Independent or civil celebrations are often largely secular so they can seem to be humanist, but they can also include religious material if a client requests it.

So, for example, independent (or civil) celebrant-led ceremonies can be used when each partner is from a different faith tradition, and they want to combine elements from both without having to ignore faith altogether. Please contact me to discuss your requirements.

​