Quick answer
To become a wedding officiant in the US, you need to be ordained or otherwise authorized to perform marriages in the state where the wedding takes place. The rules vary by state, from free online ordination that is valid in most states to formal registration with the county or a judicial appointment. If you are officiating a single ceremony for a friend, the free ordination path takes about five minutes. If you plan to make officiating a career, look for training accredited by IAPWO, the international body whose CPWO credential is the industry’s own professional qualification. This guide covers both paths.
Which path to becoming a wedding officiant are you on?
| If you are officiating… | You need… | Skip to… |
| One ceremony, for family or friends | Ordination + your state’s paperwork | The 5-minute path |
| A career or serious side income | Training + ordination + business skills | The professional path |
Not sure yet? Read on. We wrote this guide so you would not have to pick before you understand the choice.
What a wedding officiant actually does
A wedding officiant is the person legally authorized to perform a marriage ceremony and to sign the marriage license that makes the marriage valid. In the US, the umbrella term is “officiant.” A celebrant is an officiant who has completed formal training in ceremony craft, which is the international term for the same role and increasingly the professional standard in the US.
Two things matter on the day. The legal work: obtaining or verifying the marriage license, saying the two lines most states require (the Declaration of Intent and the Pronouncement), signing the license, and returning it to the issuing office within the state’s deadline. And the ceremony itself: welcoming guests, telling the couple’s story, guiding them through vows and rings, and pronouncing them married. The legal part takes a few minutes. The ceremony is the reason people remember the day.
Anyone who meets their state’s requirements can perform the legal part. What separates a competent officiant from a memorable one is the ceremony, and that is a learned craft.
Is it legal to officiate a wedding in your state?
Officiant rules are set by state, not federal, law. In most states, being ordained (including through a free online ministry) satisfies the state’s requirement to perform a marriage. A handful of states go further and require the officiant to register with the county before the ceremony, or restrict who is eligible. A few states allow a couple to marry each other with no officiant at all.
Below is a starting reference. Every claim needs to be verified against the current state statute before you officiate, because these rules change. Every row links to the state’s own marriage-license authority.
State-by-state wedding officiant law: quick reference
| State | Online ordination valid? | Officiant must register with county? | Notary can officiate? | Official state source |
| California | Yes | No | No | CA Family Code §400 |
| Texas | Yes | No | No | TX Family Code §2.202 |
| Florida | Yes | No | Yes | FL Statutes §741.07 |
| New York | Yes | Yes (NYC requires registration with the City Clerk) | No | NY DRL §11 |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | Some counties require filing | No (self-uniting marriage available) | 23 Pa.C.S. §1503 |
| Virginia | Requires circuit court authorization (not ordination alone) | Yes, via circuit court order | No | VA Code §20-23 |
| Nevada | Yes | Yes (Certificate of Permission required) | Yes | NRS 122.062 |
| Hawaii | Requires marriage-performer license via Dept of Health | Yes, via HI Dept of Health | No | HRS §572-12 |
| Tennessee | [VERIFY CURRENT STATUS — legislation has changed multiple times] | Depends on current law | No | TN Code §36-3-301 |
| Colorado | Yes | No | No (self-solemnizing marriage available) | C.R.S. §14-2-109 |
| Wisconsin | Yes | No | No (self-uniting marriage available) | Wis. Stat. §765.16 |
| District of Columbia | Requires registration with DC Courts before officiating | Yes, via DC Courts | No | D.C. Code §46-406 |
State exceptions to know before you officiate a wedding
A few states are different enough that they trip up officiants who assume the free-online-ordination path works everywhere.
Virginia does not accept online ordination on its own. You must be authorized by the circuit court in the Virginia county where the wedding takes place, either as a minister with a court order on file or as a one-time civil officiant. Plan the paperwork weeks ahead.
Hawaii requires a marriage-performer license issued by the state Department of Health. Online ordination alone is not enough. The application has a fee and a review period.
Nevada requires ordained officiants to file a Certificate of Permission with the county clerk before performing marriages. Weddings in Las Vegas run through this system every day, but you cannot skip it just because it is fast elsewhere.
Tennessee has passed and partially reversed legislation on online ordination. Check the current state of the law before you officiate. This is genuinely a moving target and the honest answer is to verify each time.
Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Wisconsin allow self-uniting or self-solemnizing marriages, where the couple marry each other without an officiant. If you are helping friends plan and they meet the requirements, this is the simplest path of all.
Washington DC requires officiants to register with the DC Courts in advance, even ordained ministers. The registration is per-officiant, not per-wedding.
US territories (Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands) have their own marriage laws. Requirements vary and are often stricter than the mainland default. Contact the territory’s marriage license office directly.
Same-sex weddings are legal in all 50 states, DC, and every US territory under Obergefell v. Hodges (2015). You do not need special authorization to officiate one.
Officiant, celebrant, minister: a plain-English glossary
The terms in this field get used loosely, and it causes real confusion. Here is what each one means.
Officiant. The US umbrella term for anyone legally authorized to perform a wedding. Covers everyone below.
Celebrant. An officiant who has completed formal training in ceremony craft. The international term for the profession and increasingly the professional standard in the US. Celebrants may or may not be religious.
Minister. An officiant recognized by a religious body, whether ordained through a church, a denomination, or an online ministry. Legally the same as any other ordained officiant in most states.
Ordained. Formally recognized by a religious or ministerial body as authorized to perform ceremonies, including weddings. Online ordinations from the Universal Life Church, American Marriage Ministries, and Get Ordained qualify in most states.
Certified. Has completed formal training with a named body and holds a credential from that body. Certification is not the same as ordination. In the US, the industry-recognized professional credential for wedding officiants is the CPWO (below).
Notary public. A state-appointed official authorized to witness legal documents. In most states a notary cannot marry people. Five states currently allow it: Florida, Maine, South Carolina, Montana, and Nevada.
Justice of the Peace, judge, or magistrate. Civil officiants authorized by their state or county role. Availability varies. Some retired judges continue to officiate; others do not.
Registered or deputized. Some states or counties require officiants to file paperwork with the local government before performing a marriage. Check your state row above.
Solemnizer. The legal term used in some state statutes for the person who solemnizes (performs) the marriage. Interchangeable with officiant in this context.
Self-uniting marriage. A marriage where the couple marry each other with no officiant. Available in Pennsylvania, Colorado, Wisconsin, DC, and in Quaker and Baháʼí ceremonies nationwide.
Marriage license vs marriage certificate. The license is the state’s permission to marry, issued before the ceremony. The certificate is the record of the completed marriage, filed after. The officiant signs the license after the ceremony and returns it to the issuing office. The couple receives the certificate later.
IAPWO. The International Association of Professional Wedding Officiants. A global body that sets standards for professional wedding officiation and accredits training programs against those standards.
CPWO. The Certified Professional Wedding Officiant credential, issued by IAPWO. Earned by completing IAPWO Accredited™ training programs and accumulating CPWO Educational Credential Points (ECPs) across seven categories. The industry’s own professional qualification for US wedding officiants.
How to Become a Wedding Officiant in the US – 5-minute path: one-off wedding
If you are officiating a single ceremony for family or friends, you can be legally ready in about five minutes. Four steps.
Step 1. Get ordained online
Three organizations offer free legal online ordination that is recognized in most US states: the Universal Life Church, American Marriage Ministries, and Get Ordained. Any of them works. Pick the one whose site you find easiest to use. Save the confirmation email. If your state or a venue asks for proof, a “letter of good standing” from the same organization costs a small fee and is usually mailed within a week.
Some couples or venues want to see the letter in advance. Ask.
Step 2. Contact the marriage license authority
The couple gets the marriage license from the county clerk or equivalent office in the county where the wedding will take place, not where the couple live. The window between issuing and using the license is set by the state, and so is any waiting period. Common shape: license valid for 30 to 90 days, waiting period of 0 to 6 days. Check the state row above and the county’s own page.
Verify two things before the day: the license is issued, and you are qualified to sign it under that state’s rules.
Step 3. Officiate the ceremony
Most states require two spoken elements for the marriage to be legally valid: the Declaration of Intent (each partner affirms they intend to marry the other) and the Pronouncement (you declare them married). The exact wording is not fixed, but the substance is. Everything else in the ceremony is craft, not law.
A short, workable structure: welcome the guests, tell one or two things about how the couple met and why they are marrying, invite the Declaration of Intent from each partner, guide the vows, guide the ring exchange, deliver the Pronouncement, present the newly married couple. Fifteen to twenty-five minutes is a normal length for a personal ceremony.
Ask the couple ahead of time whether there are readings, rituals, or family traditions they want included, and rehearse the ceremony out loud. Most nerves come from reading unfamiliar words in front of a crowd. Reading them aloud twice at home solves most of it.
Step 4. Sign and return the marriage license
After the ceremony, the couple, the witnesses (if the state requires them), and you sign the marriage license. Then you return it to the issuing office. The deadline is set by state law and it matters. Miss the deadline and the marriage may need to be re-registered, or in some states re-solemnized. Common deadlines run from 10 days to 30 days. Some counties accept the license by mail; some require in-person delivery. Confirm the process when the couple picks up the license.
That is the whole legal path. Ordination, license, ceremony, filing.

How to get ordained to officiate a legal wedding in the US
Five minutes 5 hours
Get ordained online
Sign up with a legally recognized ordination service such as the Universal Life Church, American Marriage Ministries, and Get Ordained. It’s free; it takes about five minutes, and any of them works. Save the confirmation email.
If your state or a venue asks for proof, a “letter of good standing” from the same organization, it costs a small fee and is usually mailed within a week.
Contact the marriage license authority
The couple gets the marriage license from the county clerk or equivalent office in the county where the wedding will take place, not where the couple live. The window between issuing and using the license is set by the state, and so is any waiting period. Common shape: license valid for 30 to 90 days, waiting period of 0 to 6 days. Check the state row above and the county’s own page.
Verify two things before the day: the license is issued, and you are qualified to sign it under that state’s rules.
Officiate the ceremony
Deliver the ceremony including the Declaration of Intent and the Pronouncement (the two legally required lines in most states).
Sign and return the marriage license
After the ceremony, sign the license along with the couple and any required witnesses, and return it to the issuing office within the state’s deadline.
Supply:
- Internet connection
- Valid email address
- The couple's marriage license (obtained separately)
Tools:
- Computer, phone or tablet with a web browser

The professional path to Become a Wedding Officiant in the US: officiating as a career or serious side income
Everything above is enough to marry one couple. It is not enough to make a living. If you plan to officiate weddings as a career or as a serious side income, the honest picture is different: free ordination gives you the legal authority to sign the license, but it does not teach you the craft, the business, or the credential that couples and venues increasingly look for.
Here is what the professional path adds.
What free ordination does not teach you
Ceremony craft. How to structure a ceremony that lands emotionally, how to pace it, how to write for spoken delivery rather than the page, how to weave together a couple’s story, readings, rituals, and vows so the ceremony feels like one piece rather than a checklist.
Couple discovery. How to interview a couple so the real story surfaces rather than the tidy version they hand every vendor. The details that make a ceremony memorable rarely come from the first answer.
Voice, projection, and microphone technique. Officiating is public speaking under pressure, often outdoors, often with a microphone you did not test until fifteen minutes before the guests arrived.
Handling the unexpected. Weather that turns, a broken mic, a child that wanders down the aisle, a reader who cannot get through a passage without tears, a ring that goes missing at the pronouncement. These happen. Trained officiants have already thought about what to do.
State legal script requirements in edge cases. Some states require specific declarations beyond the standard two lines. Some venues have their own requirements layered on top.
The business. Pricing your services, packaging offers, writing contracts, invoicing, tax handling, liability insurance, and building the referral network with venues, planners, and photographers that actually books your calendar.
Working with couples with non-traditional needs. Blended families, interfaith couples, LGBTQ+ couples with specific traditions, elopements, vow renewals, humanist ceremonies. The free ordination path prepares you for none of these.
The CPWO credential: the industry’s own qualification for US wedding officiants
The Certified Professional Wedding Officiant (CPWO) credential is the closest thing US wedding officiation has to an industry-standard professional qualification. It is issued by IAPWO, the International Association of Professional Wedding Officiants, and earned by completing IAPWO Accredited™ training programs and accumulating CPWO Educational Credential Points (ECPs) across seven categories: Ceremony Preparation, Ceremony Performance, Customer Relations, Legal Compliance, Business Operations, Professional Communications, and Professional Conduct.
The credential is not required by law. It is what couples and venues who take the ceremony seriously look for when they want to know a professional is professional.
The Academy of Modern Celebrancy is the first UK celebrant training provider to be awarded IAPWO Accredited™ status (May 2026). Both our flagship programs, the Wedding Celebrant Certification Course and the Celebrant Business Kickstarter, are accredited. Graduates’ training counts toward the CPWO. That matters practically: it means the training you complete with AMC translates directly into an internationally recognized US industry credential, alongside a UK qualification pathway backed by our status as an Ofqual-registered training provider. One is rooted in UK regulatory oversight. The other is the international professional standard for wedding officiation specifically.
Free ordination cannot deliver either.
Niche specializations the free sites cannot teach
Some of the highest-demand areas of US wedding officiation are the ones the free-ordination sites do not address at all. Trained celebrants do.
Secular and non-religious ceremonies. Roughly 30 percent of US adults now identify as religiously unaffiliated. Couples in this group want a real ceremony, not a religious ceremony with the religion cut out. Writing one is harder than either. Training teaches you how.
Interfaith and blended-tradition ceremonies. Two families, two traditions, one ceremony that respects both. This is craft, not improvisation.
LGBTQ+ ceremonies. Same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states, and same-sex couples often want ceremonies that honor traditions they have adapted or built themselves. The vocabulary, the pronouns, the ritual choices, and the family dynamics all deserve care.
Blended families. Ceremonies that include children from previous partnerships, and the small rituals (medallion ceremonies, family vows, sand blending) that make everyone feel included.
Elopements and micro-weddings. Small ceremonies still deserve a ceremony. They are also a distinct booking market, with distinct pricing and delivery.
Ordination only vs notary or JP vs professional training: an honest three-way comparison
| Ordination only (ULC, AMM, Get Ordained) | Notary or Justice of the Peace | Professional celebrant training (AMC) | |
| Cost | Free | Varies | Course fee |
| Legal to officiate | In most states | In specific states or roles only | In most states, via ordination |
| Teaches the ceremony craft | No | No | Yes |
| Teaches booking, pricing, contracts | No | No | Yes |
| Counts toward the CPWO credential | No | No | Yes (IAPWO Accredited™ programs) |
| Recognized professional credential | No | Role-based only | Yes |
| Right for one ceremony for friends | Yes | Situational | Overkill |
| Right as a career | No | Limited (civil-only) | Yes |
Free ordination is right for a lot of people. So is a notary or a Justice of the Peace, in the right state. Professional training is right when you want the ceremony to be memorable, when you want to earn a living from it, or when you want the credential the industry recognizes. Pick the one that fits.
Why some venues ask for a “Letter of Good Standing” (and why trained celebrants rarely need one)
Some venues and couples ask an ordained officiant to produce a Letter of Good Standing to prove their ordination is current. Ordained-only officiants often pay for one per wedding. A trained celebrant with a professional credential does not need one. It is a small thing, but it is the kind of small thing that accumulates when officiating stops being a favor and starts being a business.
Cost, fees, and what US wedding officiants earn
The economics look very different depending on which path you are on.
What it costs to become a wedding officiant
One-off path: free online ordination costs nothing. A Letter of Good Standing costs a small fee if you need one. There is no other required cost.
Professional path: professional training costs a course fee. Ranges vary by provider and depth. Expect to add costs for professional liability insurance (typically a few hundred dollars a year), a simple website, and basic business tools. AMC’s Wedding Celebrant Certification Course is priced on the course page and includes the training that counts toward the CPWO credential.
What US wedding officiants charge per ceremony
Wedding officiant fees in the US typically run $300 to $1,000 per ceremony, with experienced celebrants and specialist officiants charging more. Elopement or courthouse-adjacent packages start lower. Full-package ceremonies with custom writing, rehearsal attendance, and travel run higher. Region matters: urban and coastal markets pay more than rural markets. Reputation and reviews matter more than years.
What US wedding officiants can earn per year
A rough sizing exercise: at an average fee of $500, officiating one wedding a weekend for the peak US wedding season (roughly May through October) puts you around $12,000 to $15,000 for the season alone. Full-time officiants who serve multiple markets, take booking through the shoulder seasons, and add elopement packages can build to a five-figure or low-six-figure annual income.
The two levers are volume and price per ceremony. Volume comes from marketing and referral networks. Price per ceremony comes from positioning, portfolio, and credential. That is the whole business.
How to write and deliver a wedding ceremony
The ceremony is what the couple and their guests will remember. Here is a starting structure.
The two legally required lines (most states)
Declaration of Intent. Each partner is asked in turn whether they take the other as their spouse, and each answers yes. Phrasing is flexible. Substance is not.
Pronouncement. You declare the couple married. Phrasing is flexible. Substance is not.
Everything else in the ceremony is craft. The two lines above are the entire legal ceremony in most states.
The rest of the wedding ceremony: a starter structure
- Welcome. Greet the guests, thank them for being there, name the couple, set the tone.
- The couple’s story. How they met, what makes them them, why they are marrying now. Two to four minutes.
- Reading or reflection. Optional. A poem, a passage, a reflection from a family member.
- The vows. Written or repeated after you. Personal vows land harder when the couple has written them ahead of time and had someone edit them, even lightly.
- The ring exchange. Short, clear, symbolic.
- The Declaration of Intent. The legal lines.
- The Pronouncement. The legal declaration.
- The presentation. Introduce the newly married couple to their guests. Kiss optional. Cue the music.
Fifteen to twenty-five minutes is a good target length for a personal ceremony. Shorter for elopements. Longer only for a specific reason.
We cover this topic in detail in our guide to writing a ceremony script.
Frequently asked questions about becoming a wedding officiant
Can I officiate a wedding for my friend without any training?
Yes. In most US states, being ordained (including free online ordination) satisfies the state’s requirement to perform a marriage. You do not need any formal training to marry a friend or family member for a single ceremony. Follow the four-step 5-minute path above. Training becomes important when you want to officiate as a career, or when the couple wants a ceremony that is more than legally valid.
Is online ordination legal in every state?
Online ordination through the Universal Life Church, American Marriage Ministries, and Get Ordained is recognized in most US states, but a few states require more. Virginia requires circuit court authorization, Hawaii requires a state-issued marriage-performer license, Nevada requires a Certificate of Permission filed with the county clerk, and DC requires registration with the DC Courts. Tennessee’s law on online ordinations has changed multiple times. Always check the state’s own marriage-license office before officiating.
Which states don’t accept online ordination?
The states most commonly cited as not accepting online ordination alone are Virginia, Hawaii, and (in shifting form) Tennessee. Nevada, DC, and some New York jurisdictions accept online ordination but require additional registration or filing before you can officiate. The safest rule: verify the current status with the state’s marriage-license authority before every wedding you officiate in a new state.
Can a notary public marry people?
In most US states a notary cannot perform marriages. Five states currently allow it: Florida, Maine, South Carolina, Montana, and Nevada. Being a notary in any other state does not authorize you to officiate a wedding. If a notary in one of the five allowed states wants to officiate elsewhere, they still need to be ordained or otherwise authorized in the state where the wedding takes place.
Do I have to register with the state or county before officiating?
It depends on the state. Some states require officiants to register once with the county or state authority before performing marriages. Others require no registration. A few require a per-ceremony filing. Virginia (circuit court authorization), Hawaii (marriage-performer license), Nevada (Certificate of Permission), and DC (DC Courts registration) all require officiant registration in some form. Check the state row above.
How much do wedding officiants make in the US?
Wedding officiants in the US typically charge $300 to $1,000 per ceremony, with experienced celebrants and specialist officiants charging more. A part-time officiant working the summer wedding season can earn $12,000 to $15,000 in a season at an average fee of $500. Full-time celebrants who work multiple markets and offer packages beyond the ceremony itself can build to a five-figure or low-six-figure annual income.
How long does it take to become a wedding officiant?
The 5-minute path is exactly that. Free online ordination takes minutes and is legally recognized in most states. The professional path is longer, but it prepares you for a career and business as an officiant: AMC’s Wedding Celebrant Certification Course runs over several weeks of study, with the Celebrant Business Kickstarter included post-graduation for the business skills training. Together, the two programs are what earn you IAPWO Accredited™ points toward the CPWO credential.
What’s the difference between an officiant and a celebrant?
In the US, “officiant” is the umbrella term for anyone legally authorized to perform a wedding. “Celebrant” is the international term for an officiant who has completed formal training in ceremony craft. In practice, when a couple hires a “celebrant” they are signaling they want a professionally trained officiant who takes the ceremony seriously, whether religious or not.
Can I officiate a wedding in a different state from where I live?
Yes, provided you meet that state’s requirements. You do not need to live in the state where the wedding takes place. What you do need is to be ordained or otherwise authorized under that state’s rules, and to complete any registration that state requires. Some states require registration in advance, so plan the paperwork weeks before travel.
Do I need insurance to officiate weddings?
Not legally in most states, but professionally yes. Professional liability insurance protects you if something goes wrong on the day: a missed license deadline, a claim by a couple, a venue requirement. Coverage typically costs a few hundred dollars a year and is one of the smallest costs of running an officiant business. Many venues now require officiants to show a certificate of insurance.
What is a self-uniting marriage?
A self-uniting marriage is a marriage where the couple marry each other without an officiant. Pennsylvania, Colorado, Wisconsin, and Washington DC allow it under state law. Quaker and Baháʼí ceremonies are self-uniting by tradition and are recognized nationwide. If a couple you know wants to marry each other with no officiant, and they live in one of those states, this is the simplest path of all.
Can I officiate a same-sex wedding?
Yes, in every US state and territory. Same-sex marriage is legal nationwide under Obergefell v. Hodges (2015). No special authorization is required to officiate a same-sex wedding, and no state can refuse to recognize one. If a venue, county, or fellow officiant tells you otherwise, they are wrong.
What happens if I miss the deadline to return the marriage license?
It varies by state and it is the officiant’s responsibility. In some states the couple can file the license late with a fee. In others the marriage may need to be re-registered or re-solemnized. Some states require both partners to file affidavits explaining the delay. This is the single most common serious mistake officiants make, and it is entirely avoidable. Return the license within the state’s deadline, and confirm the county has received it.
Do I need to be religious to become a wedding officiant?
No. Free online ordinations through organizations like the Universal Life Church, American Marriage Ministries, and Get Ordained do not require any religious belief or practice. Professional celebrant training does not either. The Academy of Modern Celebrancy trains officiants who work across the religious, interfaith, and secular ends of the profession. Many US couples now prefer a non-religious ceremony that still feels meaningful, and trained officiants who can deliver one are in demand.
What is the CPWO credential, and do I need one?
The Certified Professional Wedding Officiant (CPWO) is the industry credential issued by IAPWO, the International Association of Professional Wedding Officiants. It is earned by completing IAPWO Accredited™ training programs and accumulating CPWO Educational Credential Points across seven categories. It is not required by law, but couples and venues who take the ceremony seriously look for it. AMC’s Wedding Celebrant Certification Course is one of the accredited programs that counts toward it.
What accreditation should I look for in wedding officiant training?
Look for IAPWO Accredited™ status. IAPWO (the International Association of Professional Wedding Officiants) is the international body that sets professional standards for wedding officiation and evaluates training programs against them. IAPWO Accredited™ training is scored across seven categories, including ceremony craft, legal compliance, and business operations, and the training counts toward the CPWO credential. The Academy of Modern Celebrancy is the first UK celebrant training provider to earn this accreditation.
Ready to make wedding officiating your career?
If you have read this far, the professional path is probably calling. Two next steps.
Take the AMC Celebrant Quiz. A short, honest self-assessment of whether celebrant work fits your life, your temperament, and your goals. It’s free and it takes minutes.
Learn what’s in the Wedding Celebrant Training program. The IAPWO Accredited™ program that counts toward the CPWO credential. Course structure, mentor support, community, and outcomes. See the Wedding Celebrant Training.
We have trained 1,000+ celebrants across England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Spain, France, the USA, China, and beyond. We would love to be part of your journey to becoming a professional officiant.
Team AMC
Our team of writers and contributors at The Academy of Modern Celebrancy are dedicated to educating Celebrants and helping them build thriving Celebrant businesses. Our team is made up of Celebrants and Industry experts dedicated to sharing their expertise with you.
The Academy of Modern Celebrancy also has a thriving community of over 5000 celebrants that we are dedicated to helping grow their businesses and taking celebrancy from a hobby to a lifestyle.
The Academy of Modern Celebrancy has trained over 1300 celebrants worldwide, and employs award-winning Celebrant Mentors who know what it takes to make it in the industry. We train the best celebrants out there across the UK, Europe and the USA.
Take the Quiz to find out if you have what it takes!
Not sure where to begin? Start here:
Are you a Celebrantin the making?
Find out if you have what it takes to be a celebrant and if now is the time for you to start this new chapter.

Download the Ultimate Guide to becoming a Celebrant & find out how you can make this happen!

If you liked this article you may enjoy ...
How to become a celebrant in Portugal
If you’re wondering how to become a celebrant in Portugal, whether it’s the right move for you, and if you can train with the Academy of Modern Celebrancy and whether our accreditation is recognised and relevant there, we’ve created this guide just for you. It covers the kinds of ceremonies a celebrant can build a…
Becoming a Celebrant in France
France is one of the world’s most sought-after destinations for celebrant-led ceremonies. With an extraordinary range of venues, a global reputation for romance built over centuries, and a destination wedding market that drew more than 320,000 weddings in 2024 alone, demand for skilled English-speaking celebrants is strong and consistent across the country. Whether you are…
Becoming a Celebrant in Spain
Celebrancy is a growing profession in Spain, fuelled by a thriving destination-wedding sector, a large British and international expat community, and a growing appetite for personalised, non-religious ceremonies among Spanish families. Demand for qualified celebrants across the country is strong and consistent. If you are based in Spain, considering a move, or already splitting your…
As seen in









