What is the difference between a celebrant and a registrar?
This is an excellent question.
When I got married to my wonderful husband nearly 14 years ago I didn’t know anything about Celebrants. I didn’t know the choices that were open to us for our wedding ceremony - I thought my options were pretty straightforward, either I would have a religious ceremony in a church, or a civil ceremony in a licensed venue.
We got married in a hotel, with a very lovely registrar leading the service - I remember meeting her for the first time in the bar of the hotel as I stood there in my bridal gown and she checked through my name and final details before she walked into the ceremony room ahead of me.
What is a registrar?
A registrar is employed by the council to fulfil the function of registering births, deaths and marriages. Ceremonies that they conduct are legally binding - and because of this, there are some legal steps that they need to follow. A registrar-led ceremony must take place in a registry office or licensed location (like the hotel ceremony room that I got married in), there is specified legal wording that needs to be followed and must not contain any religious content.
What is a celebrant?
A celebrant is self-employed, and works closely with you to create a ceremony totally bespoke to you and how you want to celebrate. Ceremonies led by a celebrant are not legally binding but offer unrestricted choice in terms of content options. As well as being totally unrestricted by location, you can include family members, children and even pets in your ceremony. A Celebrant is an excellent option for many couples who want more flexibility in the options available to them in their ceremony including multi-faith families, and I relish developing strong relationships with the couples I have the pleasure of working with.
Can I get married by a celebrant?
Marriage is a legal construct, and at the moment in England the legal part needs to be completed by a registrar - this can be done very simply in a Statutory Ceremony with just two witnesses where the legal paperwork is signed. You do not need to exchange rings, or vows to do this, allowing you complete flexibility to celebrate your Celebrant-led wedding in the way you want to surrounded by your friends, family and loved ones.
So what is the difference between a registrar and a celebrant?
A registrar’s role is to legalise a marriage, whereas a celebrant will work closely and personally with you to help you celebrate your wedding in whatever way is beautiful to you.
Choice is truly a wonderful thing, and I am so proud to be able to provide couples with choice in their wedding ceremonies - however you choose to celebrate I hope your day is magical!
If you’d like to explore your options please do reach out at claire@sakura-ceremonies.co.uk - I’d be delighted to chat.
