Thankfully the visibility and knowledge of celebrants is increasing but couples still don’t always understand what benefits a celebrant offers over booking a registrar. In this blog we will explore the best questions to ask when considering a Celebrant led ceremony.
Understanding the role of a Celebrant: By definition a celebrant is “a person who celebrates’ or “a person who leads a ceremony such as a wedding or funeral”. But there are those of us who offer additional services to others and this can make a difference to what price you can expect to pay.
I recently trained as an Event Planner and so am able to get involved in the planning of your day and can also be the coordinator for your event, even if you chose a different celebrant for your actual ceremony, or I can MC the event – announcing key events such as the first dance and cake cutting. My price varies depending how involved or not you want me to be in your day and so I will only offer a quote once I have had a Discovery Call over Zoom with you.
Do they have a training accreditation? Insurance? What are their reviews and testimonials like? What venues recommend them?
How flexible is your celebrant? Do they conduct more than one event a day, if so what happens if it rains or if you get stuck in traffic? I only conduct one ceremony a day so I can wait for a downpour to pass or for people stuck in traffic without it knocking on to other events. You would not get this with all celebrants and definitely not with the registration service. Remember it is only Celebrants in England and Wales who are not legally recognised.
Is the service fully personalised or do they use a framework and just tweak the couples story – this is often the case with celebrants who offer package costs. Obviously as a legal ceremony, you will need to select from some specific wording with a registrar and you may not be able to have the music choices you want.
Does your celebrant have an understanding of spiritual, cultural and religious traditions that they can incorporate in your ceremony and their importance? Anyone can google these things but unless they are fully understood, have been witnessed and practiced, there is a risk of seriously offending people if you get it wrong. I have trained in spiritual elements and studied cultural traditions with several religious leaders to make sure I get it spot on.
Will my celebrant talk through the content and choices with me? I always give a couple an idea of how the ceremony will look and compare it often to the layers in a sandwich. The only limit a couple has is their imagination and what content they want to include. I do have some limits here – I won’t include anything that has the potential to be offensive to someone or risks the health and safety of any guest. I have to make sure that as a representative of the Celebrant community that I am not creating ceremonies that are so ‘weird’ that I give the whole community a bad rep although sometimes its fun to figure out the boundaries!
What locations does your celebrant work in? I for one am a fan of a Boho, dry hire venue such as a farm, field, back of a barn, woodland or beach. I don’t go in for many stately homes but do have good relationships and am recommended supplier with some. Some celebrants will only do high end venues and so price themselves accordingly so understand whether their style matches yours.
Is your celebrant really inclusive? Do they welcome people of all diversities and have an understanding on potential risk points when supporting those with neuro-divergencies, sensory needs and physical impairments. Do they welcome people from all communities, know how to use the right language and recognise everyone for what they bring to the event rather than just wearing a rainbow badge?
Does your celebrant work with the other vendors on the day? I have a list of all the key people who will be involved in your day and make sure I make contact with them before your day and on the day, so we can all work collaboratively to offer you the best day possible. Some will just turn up, do their bit and go home – ask them.
How much say will you have in your script? Do you get to sign off the whole script before your day or will they keep it as a surprise? (This makes me twitch so badly!!) Is there a limit on how many revisions and amendments they will make? Is there a deadline by which the ceremony has to be completed? Do you get a practice run at the venue and is there an additional cost for that?
For a truly unique, fully personalised, celebrant led ceremony, there are so many things to consider. However, armed with the right questions you will be sure to find the right person for you and if there is something missing ask if they can accommodate it – we all have to start somewhere. When you are an experienced, award winning celebrant like me its easy to assume you have it all sussed but I do love it when someone throws me a curve ball and it gives me an opportunity to be creative, so don’t be afraid to lay down the challenge. I look forward to hearing from you.
