What is a Wedding Celebrant and what do they do?

Whether you’re looking to book a wedding celebrant or become a celebrant, it’s important to understand the role they play in delivering wedding ceremonies. In this article we define ‘what is a wedding celebrant?’, what they do and what to expect from a wedding celebrant, as well as the key differences and benefits of independent celebrants over registrars and other types of celebrants

What is a Celebrant?

The Cambridge Dictionary celebrant definition simply describes a celebrant as – a person who leads a ceremony such as a marriage or a funeral. But that doesn’t really tell you what a Celebrant is, or what they do. Here at The Academy of Modern Celebrancy, we’d describe a celebrant as a bringer of joy, a weaver of stories, a marker of meaningful moments… and so much more.

Wedding celebrants do so much more than just turn up on the day and conduct the ceremony. They meet with couples to get to know them before their big day and help them plan and personalise their ceremony with meaningful ceremony scripts, readings, poems and other suggestions to make it unique and memorable.

They lead the ceremony on the day, which might include rituals like handfasting, candle lighting or sand ceremonies

Jennifer, the Founder of The Academy of Modern Celebrancy explains what an Independent celebrant does.

Related: The role of a Wedding Celebrant in the UK

What Happens During a Celebrant-Led Wedding?

The beauty of celebrant-led wedding ceremonies is that they can be completely personalised to suit each couple.

The celebrant will welcome everybody to the ceremony and talk about the couple, there’s an opportunity for readings, songs, unity rituals and any other meaningful traditions. Typically the order of service would look something like this:

• Processional (walking down the aisle)
• Welcoming Remarks and Introduction to the Wedding Ceremony
• Readings & Music
• Couple’s love story
• Couple exchange vows
• Symbolic Rituals Inclusion of something symbolic like a hand-fasting or sand ceremony
• Ring exchange
• Kiss
• Pronouncement
• Aisle and confetti walk (recessional)

Of course, some couples like to throw away tradition and create a completely unique ceremony. We’ve heard of couples that start with their first dance, or a song, there’s no right or wrong.

Marriage Celebrant Meaning

A marriage celebrant is a term usually reserved for use when people mean an Independent Wedding Celebrant or a Humanist Celebrant. Both conduct wedding ceremonies and can offer personalised ceremonies that are unique to the couples.

Humanist Celebrants are not able to include religious references in their ceremonies, whereas Independent Celebrants can include both religious and spiritual elements and can also conduct non-religious wedding ceremonies.

What’s the difference between a Wedding Celebrant and a Wedding Officiant

There is no difference between a wedding celebrant and a wedding officiant. It’s two different ways to describe the same thing. Both refer to the person who performs the wedding ceremony. There’s no legal implication in the use of either name.

It’s worth noting that, depending on where you are in the World, not all wedding celebrants or officiants are licensed to conduct legal weddings. Where this is the case, couples will usually opt to conduct the legal part of their marriage in a registry office prior to their wedding ceremony.

Officiant vs celebrant – which should you use?

It’s up to you whether you refer you someone as an officiant or celebrant, but you’ll find the understanding and use varies by country: the term Celebrant is more commonly used in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK, whereas you’ll normally find celebrants being referred to as Officiants as the official name in the USA.

Can a Celebrant legally marry you?

It depends on what type of celebrant you choose and where you are:

In some places, a celebrant can legally marry you, but currently, in the UK, independent celebrants are not permitted to carry out legally binding weddings (although this is currently undergoing a law review). Couples opting for a celebrant-led wedding usually get the legal bit over and done with beforehand with their local registrar.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland, interfaith ministers, humanists, and members of religious groups can legally marry couples.

Meanwhile, in Australia and New Zealand, qualified independent celebrants can legally perform marriages and civil unions.

If you are in the U.S., you can become officially ‘ordained’ and legally marry a couple.

Celebrant vs Registrar – what’s the difference?

Registrars are employed by the local government and are not independent or self-employed. They offer ceremonies within designated rooms at the council buildings and come out to venues that have wedding licenses.

Ceremonies carried out by registrars are very brief (usually under 15 minutes), and most significantly, the wording of the ceremony is non-personalised. So, every couple has the same standard script that is performed again and again.

Independent Celebrants can create unique ceremonies and assist and guide the couple in planning their perfect ceremony. 

Sometimes, celebrants may attend ceremonies with registrars. The Registrar will complete the legal aspect and the celebrant will officiate the ceremony itself. This way the ceremony can be personalised to the couple.

What Are the Benefits of Choosing a Celebrant Over a Civil Ceremony with a Registrar?

The most popular reason people choose an Independent Celebrant over a civil ceremony with a registrar is to have a meaningful, personalised ceremony conducted that reflects their love story and not the templated script that registrars are required by law to use. 

Other benefits of choosing an independent celebrant over a registry include:

• You can personalise every part of your ceremony from the running order to what is included, who you involve in the ceremony, readings, songs, rituals and more.
• You can include religious and/or spiritual elements in your wedding ceremony that wouldn’t be allowed with a registrar. These include readings, songs, religious texts, and rituals.
• Independent Celebrants can offer unique unity rituals like handfasting, sand ceremonies, tree planting, and more as part of your ceremony that registrars can’t.
• Whilst registrars turn up on the day and don’t know the people they are marrying, celebrants get to know their couples before their big day, so the ceremony feels more personal and memorable.
• Independent Celebrants are usually generous in sharing the details of tried and trusted wedding suppliers they have met at other weddings which can make your wedding planning much easier.

Independent Celebrant-led ceremonies have a multitude of advantages over registrars, they’re:

• More modern, more fun, more passion
• Bespoke to truly reflect the happy couple
• Opportunity to create an unforgettable one-off experience
• Limitless choice of location
• Couple will form a relationship with the person delivering their special event
• Potential for significant savings on venue costs
• Greater flexibility in timings and dates

Where Can Celebrants Marry You?

The joy of having a celebrant-led wedding is that you can have your wedding just about anywhere you wish. You’re not limited to having your ceremony in a house of worship, registry office or licensed venue (since you’ll have already done the legal bit separately). You’re free to choose a wedding venue that reflects who you are as a couple, be a themed venue, a historic landmark, an outdoor wedding location: on the beach, in a forest, next to a waterfall, a vineyard or even a wedding at home.

If you’ve always loved the idea of a destination wedding, a celebrant can even conduct your wedding abroad.

When it comes to choosing a location for your celebrant-led wedding, you’re limited only by your imagination and budget. You’ll also find that independent celebrants are more flexible when it comes to timings than a religious officiant or council-employed registrar.

How Do We Choose a Celebrant?

Finding a celebrant for your big day is the easy part, you can search online, visit wedding fairs, check out celebrant directories online or ask friends for recommendations. There are Celebrants to suit every couple! Next comes the hard part of choosing your celebrant…

Choose a celebrant whose personality and style fit the vibe of the ceremony you want; if you’re quiet and understated, look for someone who fits that bill; if you’re extroverted and unconventional – there are plenty of Celebrants who can fulfil that role for you too. 

Before you commit too much time to your research, it’s worth checking that they are available for your chosen wedding date. Once you know they’re available, here are some ways to help you choose:

• Check out their website and social media channels:
• Ask to see their portfolio or recommendations from past clients. 
• See whether they have any examples of having officiated wedding ceremonies like yours before.
• Ask to see any videos of past wedding ceremonies they’ve conducted.
• Read reviews online and see what others have said about them.
• Set up an introductory call and see if you get on with them

Go with your gut, if you both love the Celebrant and you click, they’re probably the right one for you. 

What Can We Expect to Happen Once We’ve Chosen a Celebrant?

If you choose an independent celebrant, you’re signing up for a fully personalised wedding ceremony with a unique wedding ceremony script tailored to you and your partner. Your Celebrant will take time to get to know you before your big day. expect to fill out a questionnaire, and then you’ll have a meeting either via Zoom or in-person to talk them through what type of ceremony you want, who you are as a couple and your vision for your wedding day.

What is the Difference Between a Humanist Celebrant and an Independent Celebrant?

Humanist Celebrants are part of the Humanist Organisation; they provide an alternative to religious ceremonies for people wishing to celebrate or commemorate key life events in a tailored non-religious or spiritual service.

Humanist Celebrants can perform ceremonies anywhere. Like Independent Celebrants, their ceremonies are not currently legally binding under English and Welsh law, but in Scotland and Northern Ireland, Humanist Celebrants can legally marry you.

Are Celebrant led-ceremonies religious?

Independent Celebrant-led ceremonies provide the flexibility to be entirely free of religious references or can include religious or spiritual elements (and everything in between).

Couples can pick and choose whichever themes or ideas they want to include, so under the guidance of a passionate and creative celebrant, they can design a ceremony that is as personal and unique as their relationship.

They could include Pagan traditions such as handfasting or religious songs or readings from your chosen faith or tradition. It’s not uncommon to blend religious or spiritual elements—no two ceremonies will be the same!

Want to become a wedding celebrant?

There are many options available to become a celebrant. But we believe that professional wedding celebrant training through distance learning is the way forward!

At the Academy of Modern Celebrancy, we offer online training courses but with a difference. We support you with online 1-2-1 coaching and group sessions, and give you access to your own hub of video and workbook tutorials. You learn at your own pace from the comfort of your own home.

When you enrol with AMC, you become part of a team of celebrants that will help you learn how to be a celebrant and how to be successful too. We won’t just teach you how to be a celebrant, we will teach you how to run a successful business too. Your success is our success – so we are with you all the way!

Related: 3 Steps to Launching Your Dream Wedding Celebrant Business

Let’s see if Celebrancy is the right career for you: TAKE OUR CELEBRANT QUIZ NOW