There are many types of celebrants, and we all promise a ceremony with a personal touch, a ceremony that’s outside of traditional religious norms. All celebrants also promise that you can have your ceremony anywhere, at any time.
My unique selling point is this. You can have prayers at your wedding ceremony if you want.
This might not seem like a big deal to you. But you may be surprised to discover that some celebrants or officiants don’t allow any mention of religion or spiritual belief in their ceremonies. And some celebrants follow certain belief systems that shape the wording and structure of the ceremony.
You might not share in these belief systems. Maybe you don’t go to church anymore, but that doesn’t mean you have no belief. You may have particular beliefs of your own. Or you may have relatives with strong traditional religious beliefs and you don’t want them to be alienated by a ceremony with no reference to spirituality whatsoever.
Independent Celebrants Support Your Beliefs
Independent celebrants put you at the centre of the ceremony, not a belief system. It’s your beliefs, your values and your personality that decide the shape of your ceremony. You can indeed make no mention of God if you want. You can have spoken word poetry performances, death metal music and vows in Klingon. You can mix it up, with a Bible reading and a Seamus Heaney poem. And of course, you can have a ceremony with prayers and hymns at the centre.
You can invite your religious relatives to say prayers or do a religious reading at the ceremony. This will help them feel included. Lots of independent celebrants say that people come up to them after their ceremony telling them that they hadn’t expected it to be so spiritual or moving, which is a great endorsement to get. If you go down this route, I’d encourage you to ask one of your guests to say the prayers, as I don’t want to take over the role of a person who has strong religious beliefs.
Time and Place of Ceremony
This is a picture of me at a wedding ceremony in my pink celebrant suit. I’m holding a microphone in one hand and a black folder with pages inside it. To my left, here’s a group of people in colourful clothes sitting on chairs, and there are trees behind me. Photo Credit: Lopez Photography
Then there’s the time and place of your wedding. Again, all celebrants give you freedom in this regard. Even the civil registrars will travel to your wedding venue if your wedding is on a weekday. And if you’re not doing the legals, i.e. signing the register, you can have your wedding anywhere, at any time.
But if you do want to sign the register, your wedding has to be in a venue approved by the registering body. Independent celebrants are the one group of celebrants who can guarantee that you can have your wedding in any place, at any time. If you want your wedding in a lighthouse at midnight, we’ll make it happen.
To get a flavour of the type of ceremony I can deliver for you as an independent celebrant, have a look at my Weddings page.
Independent Celebrants Are There For You
I’ve said that independent celebrants put you at the centre. That isn’t just on the day of your wedding; it’s at every stage of planning your wedding ceremony. We’ll listen to you and find out what you want, and we’ll go above and beyond to make sure you get it. Our goal is to make sure you don’t have a moment’s worry, in the run up or on the day itself.
Then when we deliver our weddings, we commit 100% to the delivery. People who become independent celebrants tend to have big personalities and to be confident in front of a crowd. That helps us to deliver ceremonies full of colour, passion and character.
Two Separate Wedding Ceremonies
Independent celebrants can’t legalise your wedding ceremony. That means that you’ll need to make a separate appointment to sign the registry. This is how weddings are done in various parts of the world. I know Irish couples are used to doing both the legals and the ceremonials in one place, but it’s easier to organise than you think. I’ve put together this blog post showing you how the process works. If it means you get the ceremony you want, I reckon it’s worth it.
As an independent celebrant qualified with the IIOC, I’d be delighted to help you organise your wedding ceremony. Please give me a call on 087 6959799 if you’d like to find out more.