If you’re planning your wedding, you may be wondering whether you need a registrar, a celebrant – or perhaps both.
The short answer is: they do different jobs.
A registrar conducts the legal marriage ceremony. A celebrant creates and conducts a ceremony that is centred around you, your relationship and your story.
And if you’re dreaming of a wedding ceremony that’s personal, memorable and a little bit different, that’s where a celebrant really comes into their own.
At a glance
| Compared | Registrar | Celebrant |
|---|---|---|
| Makes you legally married | Yes | Not under current law |
| Meet beforehand | Not usually | Yes |
| Timings | Set slots, sometimes every 30 minutes | One wedding a day, no rush |
| Religious content | Not allowed | Allowed if you want it |
| Photography | Depends on the ceremony; at County Hall only your two witnesses can take photos | No restrictions |
| Your story and personal touches | Limited | The whole point |
What does a registrar do?
A registrar is there to conduct the legal part of your marriage.
But there is a difference between fulfilling the legal requirements of getting married and having someone create a ceremony around the two of you.
That’s where I come in.
So, what does a celebrant do?
As your celebrant, I get to know you.
Not just your names and the date of your wedding, but how you met, what makes you laugh, the people who matter to you, the things you’ve been through together and all the wonderfully odd little details that make your relationship yours.
I then turn all of that into your ceremony. By the time your wedding day arrives, I’m not a stranger reading a ceremony – I’m someone who already knows exactly why you’re there.
There isn’t a standard celebrant script waiting in a drawer with your names to be filled in.
You probably won’t meet your registrar beforehand
With a registrar-led ceremony, you don’t normally get to meet the registrar beforehand. You may have a separate appointment if you have questions, but the person who conducts your ceremony is generally someone you meet on the day a few minutes before the ceremony begins.
With a celebrant, it’s very different. I’ll know you, your story and what matters to you long before we start the proceedings.
And importantly, I only conduct one wedding ceremony a day.
A registrar has to work within the registration service’s timetable.
That’s not a criticism – it’s simply how a public registration service works. Devon has scheduled ceremony slots, with some registration offices offering ceremonies every 30 minutes.
I’m different.
You are my only wedding that day.
If you’re running late, I’m not immediately thinking about the couple who are supposed to be arriving after you.
I once waited two hours for a bride.
Things had gone wrong and she was very late. But I could wait. There was no next wedding that I needed to rush off to.
If things run late, if your nerves get the better of you, if your photographer needs an extra five minutes, or if your guests are having such a lovely time that everything takes a little longer than planned, we can deal with it.
Because your wedding day isn’t an appointment that needs to be squeezed into a timetable.
What about photography?
This is another thing worth checking before you book.
Photography rules can vary depending on where your registrar ceremony takes place.
For example, Devon’s statutory ceremonies at County Hall take place in a small ceremony room with only the couple and their two witnesses. Photography is allowed, but no one else can be in the room – so your photographer would need to be one of your witnesses, or a witness takes the photos.
Other registrar ceremonies at approved venues can have different arrangements, so don’t assume that photography will automatically be unrestricted. It’s worth asking the registration service and your venue exactly what is permitted.
With a celebrant ceremony, there are no photography restrictions.
Want your photographer lying on the ground as you come down the aisle to capture the moment?
Want photographs of your friends and family reacting to your vows?
Anything goes!
The freedom to make it yours
This is where the difference really starts to show.
A civil ceremony has to follow certain rules. For example, religious content such as hymns or Bible readings isn’t permitted, although you can sometimes include secular readings, music and personal vows.
With a celebrant, your ceremony isn’t tied to those civil ceremony restrictions.
Want your best friend to tell the story of how you met?
Want your children to sing you a song?
Want to walk down the aisle together rather than being “given away”?
That’s entirely up to you.
The point isn’t that a registrar can’t personalise a ceremony at all.
The difference is that personalisation is the whole point of what I do.
Can you have both a registrar and a celebrant?
And this is something lots of couples don’t realise.
You don’t have to choose between getting legally married and having the ceremony you really want.
Many couples deal with the legal formalities separately and then have their proper wedding celebration with a celebrant.
That’s exactly what my husband and I did for our own wedding. I’m a celebrant who practised what she preaches!
We had our legal ceremony at Devon County Hall on a Tuesday morning with two witnesses – my Mum and my best friend, Tom and then went to Sidmouth for ice cream. The following Thursday, we had our wedding at Glebe Barn with our friends and family.
Most of them had no idea that Thursday wasn’t actually our legal ceremony.
And it was perfect – even the bits that pointed out our differences. Let’s just say my husband is very at home in nature, a bit like Bear Grylls. He can make fire, climb mountains and wrestle snakes. And I don’t even like getting my hair wet in the rain…
Which is right for you?
If you want a straightforward legal ceremony in a venue with a wedding licence, a registrar may be exactly what you’re looking for.
If you want someone to spend time getting to know you, write your ceremony from scratch, tell your story, involve the people you love and create something that feels completely personal, then a celebrant could be what you’re looking for.
I’ll listen to your stories, ask the nosy questions, find the funny bits, discover the meaningful ones and turn them into a ceremony that sounds like you – not a generic wedding script.
No conveyor belt.
No “in sickness and in health” unless that’s what you actually want.
Just your people, your story, your promises and a ceremony that’s completely yours.
