Beyond The Ceremony Podcast Episode 23: Wedding Law Reform, The Consultation Explained with Sophie Easton and Russell Sandberg
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Something significant is happening in the UK wedding industry right now, and if you are a celebrant, a couple planning a wedding, or anyone working in the wedding world, this episode is not one to skip.
The government has launched a public consultation on wedding law reform, and the initial position is that independent celebrants should be allowed to legally marry couples. That is not legislation yet, but it is the closest the celebrant industry has ever come to one of its biggest ambitions.
And the window to respond is open right now.
In this episode, host Laura Crockett is joined by two of the most important voices in this conversation: Professor Russell Sandberg, Professor of Law at Cardiff University and one of the UK’s foremost experts on marriage law reform, and Sophie Easton, campaign lead at the Give Couples Choice movement, the organisation that has been championing this change since 2020. Together they walk through exactly what the consultation on wedding law reform is, what it means for celebrants, and most importantly, what you need to do before it closes.
This is potentially the biggest change to UK wedding law in 200 years. Your response genuinely matters.
“The thing that can kill this is a lukewarm reception. It needs to be underlined that this is absolutely something the government should prioritise.” Professor Russell Sandberg
💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:
💎 What the government consultation on wedding law reform actually is, in plain English, and why Russell describes reading it as feeling like Christmas
💎 The seven chapters of the consultation, and exactly which three Sophie says every celebrant should prioritise in their response
💎 Why volume matters as much as quality, and why even ticking through the questions without writing lengthy answers still makes a difference
💎 The one question every celebrant should be asking their couples to answer right now, question 27 (in chapter 6), more powerful than a Google review at this moment in time
💎 What the Dignity Framework is, why it matters for how you conduct ceremonies, and the food and drink question that has the whole industry talking
💎 Why authentic, personal responses based on your own experience will always land better than polished legal language or any kind of template response
💎 How long this is likely to take to become legislation, what David Lammy said on camera before leaving the role, and why the timeline depends heavily on the strength of the consultation response
💎 How to actually submit your response to the wedding law reform, online, by email, or by post, and why you can save your progress and come back to it
✨ This episode is perfect for:
- Every qualified celebrant in the UK right now; this affects your business directly, and your response is needed
- Aspiring celebrants and students who want to understand the landscape they are training into and why this moment matters
- Couples who have had a celebrant-led wedding or are planning one; your voice carries weight in this consultation
- Anyone in the wedding industry- photographers, venue owners, planners- who has ever watched a celebrant ceremony and thought: this is exactly what weddings should be
If you want the broader picture on why wedding law reform has been so long in the making, Episode 17 is essential listening. Laura Crockett explored the Give Couples Choice campaign in depth with Russell Sandberg back in Season 1, and it gives this episode the context it deserves.
After this episode, you will know exactly what to do, what to read, which questions to focus on, how long to set aside, and why filling in that consultation on wedding law reform might be the single most useful thing you do for your celebrant career this year.
And if you are ready to read more about the Wedding Law Reform Consultation (remember the most important one is #27, which can be found in chapter 6), here is a link that takes you there.
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MEET OUR GUESTS, SOPHIE EASTON AND RUSSELL SANDBERG
Sophie Easton is the campaign lead at the Give Couples Choice movement, the organisation at the forefront of pushing for wedding law reform in the UK. Sophie has been instrumental in building momentum around the consultation and mobilising the celebrant community to respond.
Professor Russell Sandberg is a Professor of Law at Cardiff University, specialising in religion and law, and one of the UK’s leading academic voices on marriage law reform. He is the author of The Need for Reform on religion and marriage law.
MEET YOUR HOST, LAURA CROCKETT
Laura has been an independent celebrant for 5 years and absolutely loves it. It makes her so proud seeing how far she’s come in that time. Laura feels like she’s found her calling and is so excited to keep progressing and growing her Celebrant business! Laura creates all kinds of ceremonies, including Weddings, Funerals, Vow Renewals, and Naming Ceremonies. Before she was a celebrant, Laura was a breakfast radio presenter, so her happy place is either at the front of a ceremony or sitting behind a microphone!
At home, Laura is married to Johnathan (a primary school teacher and her biggest cheerleader) and a mummy to two boys – Woody and Dougie. Laura is also a dog mum to Betty and Barney, the cockapoos! They can often be found curled up by her side when she’s writing scripts or lying by the radiator in the office when she’s on couples calls!
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💒 Beyond The Ceremony Podcast: Modern Celebrancy. Unfiltered. 💒
Everything you need to know about how to succeed as a modern celebrant. From top tips on how to create unforgettable ceremonies to success stories from some of the best in the biz, we give you a behind-the-scenes look into life as a celebrant. Hosted by Laura Crockett, award-winning celebrant, radio personality, and host of Beyond the Ceremony.
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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 5000 celebrants that we are dedicated to helping grow their businesses and taking celebrancy from a hobby to a lifestyle.
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