It’s official: celebrant weddings are one of the fastest growing wedding trends in the UK. According to The Academy of Modern Celebrancy, there was a 49% increase in search volume for ‘celebrant weddings’ in 2024, while planning this type of ceremony was named the number one trend that year by wedding website Hitched.
“I’ve seen a 200% increase in enquiries on this time last year alone!” reports Eleanor Willcocks from The Full Stop Celebrant. She believes this is down to more couples looking for an intense personalisation of the most intimate part of their day – the ceremony. “In a stage of life that can be dominated by couples creating a vision influenced by what they see on both social media and in the weddings of their friends, celebrants create the opposite – a completely unique experience that nobody else has, because we base everything on your love story alone,” says Eleanor. “We’re the opposite of a trending TikTok dance for your big day.”
Sussex-based celebrant Hanna Searle agrees. “It’s becoming more obvious that there are multiple ways to celebrate and solidify your relationship. It shouldn’t be a ‘one size fits all’ ceremony as each is unique in its own way – and that’s something to be celebrated in itself!”
The great news is that planning a celebrant-led wedding is easier than ever before. More and more people are qualifying as celebrants, so you have a greater choice of people to lead your ceremony and finding one who’s the perfect match.
If you love the idea of having your wedding at Alfriston Gardens conducted by a celebrant, read on for more information about this type of celebration, what you need to consider, and some fantastic advice and tips from wedding celebrants.
A celebrant wedding is an alternative to a traditional religious or civil ceremony. Rather than the wedding being officiated by a registrar or religious leader, it’s instead performed by a celebrant.
While anyone can be a celebrant, many celebrants have undergone professional training with bodies such as The Academy of Modern Celebrancy or the UK Society of Celebrants. This means they have experience in creating and leading personalised ceremonies.
The biggest difference in England and Wales between a celebrant-led ceremony and one with a registrar is that the celebrants cannot legally marry a couple. So the ceremony performed by a celebrant is symbolic, not legally binding.
Another big difference is that, unlike civil or religious weddings, celebrant-led ceremonies can take place anywhere, including outside. While the wedding industry has long been calling for legal reform in marriage ceremonies, at the moment civil weddings and partnerships can only take place in registry offices or licensed venues.
If your dream has always been to get married at the top of a mountain or on a cliff by the sea, or in a venue that just doesn’t have a licence, a celebrant ceremony offers you much more freedom in terms of location.
A registrar-led ceremony is also quite rigid in what can and can’t be included; for example, you cannot have any religious elements or even mention religion during the ceremony. There are also restrictions on when it can take place, and how long your registrar can stay for. All these aren’t an issue with celebrant-led weddings, which are completely flexible and customisable.
The first thing to do is find the right celebrant for you. “It’s important to do your research to find and meet the best person,” explains Vim Ziymabe at Forever Loved Celebrancy. “Because celebrants personalise the ceremony, you need to find someone you feel comfortable with sharing your journey with.”
You and your love story will be a big part of your ceremony, says Eleanor. “You are the content, so engagement with the process of creating the ceremony is part of the fun.”
Hanna emphasises the importance of making it tailored to you. “Definitely consider yourselves – it’s your day, it’s your relationship. Many people get side-tracked into pleasing everyone else, but it’s the one day to celebrate you, so keep that at the forefront of your planning.”
It’s important to remember the paperwork, too. If you want to be legally married, you’ll need to organise a civil ceremony before or after your celebrant-led one. “This costs about £60, takes ten minutes, needs two witnesses, and is the signing of your legal certificate. 90% of my couples do this the week before,” says Eleanor.
“There are lots of ways a celebrant can personalise your wedding,” advises Hanna. “We can add symbolic elements such as jumping the broom, wishing jars and handfasting, but you needn’t stop there. Any idea that you have, your celebrant can work with you to make that come to life. There are no rules or restrictions, and that’s the beauty of it!”
Eleanor finds that most couples want to meet in the ceremony space, exchange vows and rings, and have the celebrant talk about their relationship for their friends and family. She also often includes readings, games, stories, songs and poetry.
Vim has a unique literary approach to celebrancy. “I write a poem for the couple based on their love story and the answers they give me on their relationship, milestones, quirks, beliefs and desires for their future together. I then read it out to them and their guests as part of their ceremony and, as you can imagine, it’s a gorgeous way to personalise their ceremony.”
We welcome celebrant-led ceremonies at our beautiful Sussex wedding venue. With stunning spaces both outside and inside, there are a myriad of spots you can choose for your ceremony.
We’re also a fully licensed venue, so if you decide to have a combination of a registrar and celebrant, this is definitely an option too. We’d love to chat to you about your plans and show you around our stunning venue on the border of the South Downs National Park.
