Humanist weddings and celebrant-led ceremonies have risen in popularity hugely in the UK. Over 1,000 occur in England and Wales each year. Lots of couples are now considering these as an alternative to a civil ceremony. Here we will guide you through everything you need to know about wedding celebrants and celebrant-led ceremonies.
- What is a Celebrant?
- What's the Difference Between a Civil and Celebrant-led Wedding Ceremony?
- Where Can I Have a Celebrant-led Ceremony?
- Can We Write Our Own Vows?
- Is a Celebrant-led Ceremony a legally binding marriage?
- How Much Does a Celebrant-led Ceremony Cost?
- What is a Humanist Ceremony?
- Is there a Difference between a Humanist Celebrant and an Independent Celebrant?
- What Happens at a Celebrant-Led Ceremony?
- How Do I Choose Content for a Celebrant-led Ceremony?
- How Long is a Celebrant-Led Ceremony?
- Should I Have a Celebrant-Led Ceremony?
- Can An Independent Celebrant Create A Ceremony For A Multicultural Couple?
- How Can An Independent Celebrant Support An LGBTQ+ Wedding Ceremony?
- How Do I Choose a Celebrant?
What is a Celebrant?
A wedding celebrant is a professionally trained and fully insured officiant who performs formal ceremonies such as weddings. Celebrants have the skills and experience to help couples tailor bespoke ceremonies that reflect their personalities and love for each other.
What's the Difference Between a Civil Ceremony and Celebrant-led Wedding Ceremony?
A civil ceremony is performed by a registrar, either in a registry office or a wedding venue that is licensed for ceremonies. While they are both non-religious wedding ceremonies, there are significant differences.
Civil ceremonies are legally recognised, but are bound by restrictions regarding the words spoken during the ceremony. For example, there can be no religious aspect at all.
On the other hand, a celebrant-led wedding is bespoke and meaningful, guided by a celebrant who delivers a personalised ceremony. There are no limits to gender, race, sexual orientation, size, ability, or circumstance for the couple. In ceremonies performed by an independent celebrant, religious aspects can be added to represent the couple's individual and combined beliefs.
Where Can I Have a Celebrant-led Ceremony?
Celebrants are essentially able to perform a ceremony at any wedding venue or location. So, it is entirely up to you what you want your ceremony backdrop to be. As well as location, there is no restriction on time slots. So, a celebrant-led wedding ceremony offers couples complete flexibility.
Can We Write Our Own Vows?
One of the aspects that couples love is that the Celebrant will get to know you before the ceremony and help you decide on key elements and rituals within the ceremony. As part of this, they'll help you to write your own vows if you choose to. You'll normally meet them in person or over a video link and they will ask you questions and take notes to understand more about you and give the ceremony a really personal feel. The celebrant may help you pick out readings, music, and show you the different symbolic acts you can pick.
The celebrant will craft a ceremony script based on your personalities and preferences and will check that you are totally happy with it. They will also be on hand to guide you through the process and discuss or adjust the ceremony all the way up to the wedding day.
Is a Celebrant-led Ceremony a Legally Binding Marriage?
Unlike in Scotland and Northern Ireland, celebrant-led weddings are not yet recognised in law in England and Wales on their own. However, it is likely this will change as the Law Commission recently announced their wedding law reform recommendations. The Law Commission is recommending that the officiant become licensed to perform ceremonies, rather than the location as the law currently requires. So, couples of the future (likely around 2024 / 2025) will hopefully be able to have a legally binding wedding ceremony performed by a celebrant.
For now though, the ceremonies will remain symbolic. So, couples often go to the registry office to be legally wed before or after but there is no reason that you can't combine a celebrant-led ceremony with a church or civil ceremony or partnership.
There's no rule that the certificate can only be signed after the ceremony. It can be signed beforehand so you're technically married before the ceremony even begins. So, as long as you have a signed wedding certificate your wedding will be legal and valid – it's the paperwork that makes it legal, not the ceremony.
How Much Does a Celebrant-led Ceremony Cost?
There's no set fee structure; it's dependent on geographical location, experience, and local supply and demand. The general guide price can vary between £450-£1,000, however, we have found that most people pay between £500 and £600 which is the same you would pay for a typical church wedding or for the registrar's attendance at a civil ceremony.
What is a Humanist Ceremony?
A 'Humanist' is someone who chooses to live a good life without religious or superstitious beliefs. Humanists believe that moral values follow on from human nature and experience. A humanist, non-religious wedding ceremony gives you the opportunity to marry where, when, and how you want. Each ceremony is written specifically for the couple; there is no set format. As a guide, a typical wedding might include readings, poems or music as well as personal anecdotes about the couple. The couple will make vows or commitments to each other and often exchange rings.
Humanist celebrants offer secular/non-religious ceremonies only, as they have no-religious beliefs. So, do not include any religious acts of worship in their ceremonies. However, humanist ceremonies can include religious content if it occurs in readings, hymns, or music originally written for praise.
Is there a Difference between a Humanist Celebrant and an Independent Celebrant?
Whilst Humanist ceremonies are always non-religious and are based on an atheist belief system, an Independent Celebrant has the flexibility to include religious and/or spiritual elements if the couple wish to have them. Indeed many couples choose an Independent Celebrant because they have faith but are not a part of any organised religion. They may have faith but are divorced, or be of mixed faiths and therefore want a ceremony which includes an element of more than one religious which a celebrant can include. They are also often same-sex couples whom the church have actually turned away for their wedding.
What Happens at a Celebrant-Led Ceremony?
Each ceremony is completely bespoke and personal to you. However, here is a basic outline of an example ceremony structure:
- Arrival of the couple (individually or together)
- Introductions and welcomes
- Words about love and commitment from a non-religious perspective
- Reading or poem
- The couple's story – how they met, their shared values, hopes for the future
- What marriage means to the couple
- Reading, poem, hymn or song
- The couple's promises/vows
- Meaningful symbolic act (e.g. handfasting or sand ceremony)
- Exchange of rings
- Pronouncement as married
- Words of well-wishing
- Closing and departure
There are also several symbolic acts that are an incredibly meaningful part of both humanist and celebrant-led wedding ceremonies. For example, swapping garlands, jumping the broom, gift-giving, and wine or flower rituals. We have outlined the most popular below.
What is Handfasting?
Handfasting is when a cord or sash is used to tie the hands of a couple together. Then, they recite words expressing their commitment to one another. It's where the phrase 'tying the knot' comes from!
What is a Hand-holding Ceremony?
A hand-holding ceremony is when couples face each other, hold hands and look into each others' eyes as a blessing is spoken over them. Sometimes you'll cross your arms over to form an infinity symbol that represents a love that will go on forever.
What is a Candle Ceremony?
A candle ceremony is when each of you lights a candle representing your separate lives. Then, together you use two tapers to light a third, different coloured candle to symbolise joining your life together in marriage.
What is a Unity Sand Ceremony?
A unity sand ceremony is where the couple each pour different coloured sand into a third container indicating the intertwining of their lives in marriage.
Religious Elements
The ceremony can include religious elements if the couple choose an Independent Celebrant, for example, words honouring deceased loved ones and how they may be spiritually present in this moment or watching over the couple on their special day. Some couples choose to include hymns, prayers or specific rituals that they would like to involve in the ceremony to honour their religion.
How Do I Choose Content for a Celebrant-led Ceremony?
Celebrants work with you to ensure that the content accurately reflects who they are. There are no restrictions when it comes to music or readings during your celebrant ceremony. So, you can opt for something that you both love, and not feel limited in your choices. You can also add elements of religion, acknowledge your cultural background or even a family tradition.
Celebrant-led ceremonies often use one of three styles of vows. The traditional “I do”, the 'repeat after me' vows or personal vows written by the couple. It's your day so be as creative as you wish, and have a truly personal day. Using a wedding celebrant means you will have a beautifully bespoke ceremony, created just for you, so make the most of the opportunities this by having vows that reflect your feelings.
How Long is a Celebrant-Led Ceremony?
This depends on the content of your ceremony. On average, most celebrant-led ceremonies are around half an hour, very similar to any other wedding ceremony. Of course, it depends on the length of your readings and any rituals you wish to include.
Should I Have a Celebrant-Led Ceremony?
Celebrant-led ceremonies weddings are perfect for couples who would like a meaningful ceremony but think traditional wedding structures are not for them. Celebrants can ensure you have more of a say over what you want to include and exclude in the ceremony and are generally more versatile.
Your bespoke ceremony is performed by a celebrant who has become close to you as a couple and knows your story. Celebrants can do more than just preside over the ceremony. They can stay by your side throughout the entire wedding process. Celebrants can also assist with paperwork, writing of vows, and even wedding planning.
Celebrants are also open and inclusive, welcome same-sex and interfaith couples. So, they are an option for everyone. Humanist celebrants undergo gold standard training by Humanists UK, and the service includes public liability insurance. Most independent celebrants are trained by the Fellowship of Professional Celebrants.
With a celebrant-led ceremony, the event is all about the two of you. Just like your partnership, your wedding should be unique to you as a couple. There are no restrictions on where the ceremony can take place. So, it gives you the flexibility to create a personal ceremony that is unique.
Can An Independent Celebrant Create A Ceremony For A Multicultural Couple?
Yes. An independent celebrant is well suited to creating a wedding ceremony that reflects a multicultural relationship in a thoughtful and respectful way. Rather than asking you to follow one tradition, an independent celebrant takes time to understand your backgrounds, values and what matters most to you both. This might involve blending cultural rituals, adapting traditions to feel more relevant, or creating new symbolic moments that reflect your lives together.
Because independent celebrants are not bound by religious or institutional rules, they can shape the language and structure of your ceremony so both families feel acknowledged, while keeping your relationship at the heart of the day. The result is a ceremony that feels inclusive, personal and true to who you are.
How Can An Independent Celebrant Support An LGBTQ+ Wedding Ceremony?
An independent celebrant can help LGBTQ+ couples create a wedding ceremony that feels authentic, affirming and entirely their own. With no set scripts or gendered language to follow, an independent celebrant has the flexibility to design a ceremony around your identities, values and relationship. This allows space to reimagine traditions, recognise chosen family, blend cultures, or create something completely new.
An experienced independent celebrant provides a welcoming, inclusive environment where you can feel seen and respected. Your ceremony can be joyful, meaningful or quietly reflective, without compromise, focusing on love, equality and celebrating your commitment in a way that feels right for you.
How Do I Choose a Celebrant?
Thinking about having a celebrant? The best thing is to get to know them, to see if they're a match for you!
Jennifer Patrice
Jennifer Patrice is a qualified and highly experienced independent celebrant who creates meaningful, beautifully personalised wedding ceremonies that reflect each couple's unique story. A member of the Association of Independent Celebrants, she works across England and internationally, from destination weddings abroad to more unconventional celebrations, always bringing warmth, care and expertise. With a distinguished background delivering high-profile events and recognition from leading publications and platforms, Jennifer is a sought-after choice for couples looking for an elegant, thoughtfully crafted ceremony.
In past 12 months
Jennifer Patrice - Celebrant
Jennifer Patrice is a qualified celebrant creating meaningful, personalised wedding ceremonies in England and abroad for discerning couples.Sonal Dave
Sonal Dave is an award-winning West London celebrant known for crafting truly bespoke wedding ceremonies centred around each couple's unique love story. Bringing professionalism, warmth and a collaborative approach, Sonal specialises in Asian, fusion, multicultural, interfaith and LGBTQ+ ceremonies, thoughtfully weaving together traditions, values and personal moments to create something meaningful and authentic. Working across the UK and internationally, she offers a modern alternative to a standard service, ensuring every ceremony feels personal, inclusive and beautifully delivered. You may also recognise Sonal from Love Is Blind UK, Season 1, where she appeared as one of the celebrants.
In past 12 months
Sonal Dave
Crafting your unique ceremony with an award-winning West London wedding celebrant.White Rose Ceremonies®
White Rose Ceremonies creates joyful, fully personalised wedding ceremonies across North Wales, the UK and Brittany, with no restrictions on location or style. Supporting all faiths and beliefs, the focus is on ceremonies that truly reflect each couple's story, combining warmth, fun and meaning. With a one-wedding-a-day commitment and close support throughout, couples can enjoy a ceremony shaped entirely around them.
In past 12 months
White Rose Ceremonies®
For a truly unforgettable wedding ceremony, entrust your special day to the award-winning White Rose Ceremonies®.Perfect Words Ceremonies
This award-winning wedding celebrant is based in Surrey and creates relaxed, inclusive ceremonies shaped around each couple's values, personalities and story. Working across the South East, every ceremony is tailor-made and can be romantic, light-hearted, traditional or quirky, depending on what feels right for you. With a calm, organised approach and a love of storytelling, couples are supported through a smooth, personal and enjoyable journey.
In past 12 months
Perfect Words Ceremonies
Guides For Brides Winner 2024, the leading Wedding Celebrant in Surrey and Kent. Creating perfect, unique and memorable ceremonies.Pure Silk Ceremonies
Sheila is a Liverpool-based celebrant and winner of the Guides for Brides Customer Service Award 2023, creating wedding and vow renewal ceremonies that are personal, joyful and memorable. She works with couples planning everything from intimate elopements to larger celebrations, tailoring each ceremony to reflect their love story and the way they want to say “I do”.
In past 12 months
Pure Silk Ceremonies
Wedding Celebrant- Unique Wedding & Vow Renewal Ceremonies created just for you!Simply Ceremonies
Karina is a multi award-winning independent celebrant covering Kent and the South East, creating personalised wedding, vow renewal and hand-fasting ceremonies that are warm and memorable. She works across settings ranging from beaches and woodlands to castles and private gardens, shaping each ceremony around the couple's beliefs and love story, and also offers a 'Wedding in a Box' service for those who want a bespoke script led by a friend or family member.
In past 12 months
Ceremonies by Sally
Sally, an experienced celebrant, creates fully personalised wedding ceremonies with no restrictions on venue, format or style. With over five years' experience, ceremonies can include music, pets and meaningful cultural or symbolic rituals, shaped around each couple's story. From intimate gatherings to bold celebrations, couples are supported through a relaxed, stress-free process to create a ceremony that feels truly their own.
In past 12 months
Ceremonies By Sally
Bespoke Celebrant Wedding Ceremonies and Marriage Celebrations in Sussex Hampshire West SussexSallieann Weddings
Sallieann is an independent wedding celebrant who possesses a unique talent for crafting unforgettable and bespoke wedding ceremonies.With a deep passion for weddings and a keen eye for detail, she goes above and beyond to create personalised and meaningful experiences for couples on their special day. With 29 years experience in the wedding industry, Sallieann's commitment to understanding each couple's story, values, and desires allows her to craft ceremonies that are as unique and beautiful as the love they celebrate.
In past 12 months
Sallieann Weddings - Wedding Celebrant
Wedding Celebrant & Wedding Planner based in Buckinghamshire & UKYOLO Ceremonies
Ace is a qualified celebrant accredited with Humanists UK who is dedicated to crafting unique and deeply personal ceremonies that celebrate your love story. She offers ceremonies that are inclusive for all, no matter your beliefs, allowing you to create a meaningful and authentic ceremony that reflects your love. Her approach is tailored to your individual needs and wishes so she works closely with you to understand your vision, ensuring that your wedding is a true reflection of you as a couple.
In past 12 months
YOLO Ceremonies, Wedding Celebrant in West Midlands
YOLO Ceremonies based in the Midlands : Heartfelt wedding ceremonies tailored to you in England and Wales. Also available for destination weddings.Trevor English
Trevor English is a Hampshire-based independent celebrant creating bespoke wedding ceremonies that reflect each couple's story, values and personalities. With flexibility over content, location and style, Trevor works closely with couples to craft meaningful ceremonies and personalised vows. He also offers professional toastmaster services, providing calm organisation and support to help the day run smoothly from start to finish.
Trevor English Celebrant
Hampshire weddings made easy! Trevor English - Celebrant & Toastmaster: Unique ceremonies, seamless coordination, lasting memories.Celebrations by Suzi
If you're looking for a traditional ceremony or something a little more inventive, with Suzi's experience and your ideas, together you will create a celebration that is unique and tailored around you and your wishes.No matter who you are, who you love, your beliefs or needs, Suzi will provide equality of service to all with openness and conscientiousness at the core in everything she does.
In past 12 months
Celebrations by Suzi, Award Winning Wedding Celebrant in Oxfordshire
Enjoy a one-of-a-kind joyful wedding ceremony made just for you - Trusted, Experienced & Recommended Celebrant - Oxfordshire, Berks, Bucks, CotswoldsYvonne Beck
Yvonne is an experienced celebrant creating relaxed, inclusive wedding and elopement ceremonies that are meaningful and story-led. With over 14 years' experience, she specialises in supporting international and bilingual couples, offering ceremonies in English and German across the UK and Europe. Her calm, personalised approach ensures every ceremony feels authentic and thoughtfully shaped around the couple.
In past 12 months