Frequently Asked Questions

As your celebrant, I work with you to create and conduct a wedding ceremony that is completely personal to you.

I’ll get to know you as a couple, help you decide what you want your ceremony to include, write the ceremony itself and then deliver it on the day.

That might mean a traditional ceremony with vows, readings and ring exchanges. Or it might be something completely different.

My job is to make sure your ceremony feels like it could only ever be your wedding – not anyone else’s.

A registrar has to follow the legal requirements of a civil marriage ceremony. There can often be time constraints, venue limitations and no religious content whatsoever, even if it’s just referred to in a line in your favourite song.

A celebrant ceremony gives you much more freedom.

You can tell your story, write your own vows, involve family and friends, choose your own music and readings, incorporate cultural or spiritual traditions and create something that reflects your personalities.

You can have a ceremony that’s traditional, unconventional, funny, romantic, emotional – or all of those things at once.

Read more on my Celebrant or Registrar? page.

This is probably one of the most common questions I get.

In England and Wales, a celebrant-led ceremony isn’t currently the legal marriage ceremony. The simplest way around this is to separate the legal bit from the celebration.

You can have a small, straightforward legal ceremony at your local register office, and then have your proper wedding celebration with me – wherever you want it and however you want it.

I know this works because it’s exactly what I did myself.

I got legally married in May 2025 with just two witnesses at Devon County Hall. It was simple and took care of the legal bit. Then, the following Thursday, we had our big wedding celebration at Glebe Barn – with all the people we wanted there, a ceremony that actually felt like us.

The legal ceremony doesn’t have to be the main event.

Read more on my The Legal Bit page.

You absolutely can – and for some couples, that’s exactly the right choice.

The advantage of separating the legal ceremony from the celebration is freedom.

A statutory register-office ceremony has to follow the legal requirements and cannot usually be personalised with things such as readings, music or personal vows.

With a celebrant ceremony, you have much more freedom to make the occasion personal, funny, emotional, traditional, unconventional – or a glorious mixture of all of those things.

That’s the whole point.

The law gets you married. Your ceremony celebrates why you’re getting married.

Yes, of course. Choosing a celebrant doesn’t mean you have to have something wacky.

If you want vows, readings, a ring exchange, a blessing and all the traditional elements, we can include them.

The difference is that we can choose the traditions that mean something to you and leave out the ones that don’t.

Yes – and I’ll help you if you want me to.

Some people know exactly what they want to say. Others stare at a blank piece of paper and wonder how on earth they’re supposed to summarise their entire relationship in a few paragraphs.

Either is fine.

If a couple wants to write their own vows, I usually ask them to send them to me in advance so I can check they are similar in length and don’t contain exactly the same content.

I can help you shape your own vows or write them with you.

Very.

For my bespoke wedding ceremonies, I’ll talk to you about your relationship, your personalities, your history, the things you’ve done together and the things that make you laugh.

I’ll interview you together and separately, so I can really get to know your story.

You can also involve family and friends if you’d like to.

The result should sound like you, not like something copied from a wedding website.

Of course. They can contribute readings, stories, poems, songs, performances or messages. Children can have a role too. My own son was given the role of saying “you can now kiss the bride” which he loved at the time but will probably cringe about during his teen years..!

Sometimes the people who know you best have the best stories – although you may want to think carefully about exactly which stories you give me permission to tell!

Yes.

A celebrant ceremony can include religious, spiritual, cultural or symbolic elements if they’re meaningful to you.

You can include traditions from your faith or culture, or simply incorporate individual rituals, readings, music or symbols that have meaning for you.

There doesn’t have to be a particular set of rules. The ceremony can be shaped around what matters to you.

Yes. A celebrant ceremony can take place in a venue’s garden, on a beach, in a field or in your own back garden, as long as the landowner is happy and any permissions you need are in place. There’s more on my Outdoor & beach weddings page.

I’ve conducted ceremonies in all sorts of settings, and one of the great advantages of having a celebrant is that you’re not necessarily tied to a traditional ceremony room.

Of course, we should always have a wet-weather plan.

This is Devon, after all.

Yes. Vow renewals are completely bespoke.

You might want something romantic and intimate, a big family celebration, something funny and irreverent, or a ceremony reflecting everything you’ve been through together.

We don’t have to recreate your original wedding. We can create something entirely new.

Not at all. You can repeat your original vows if you’d like to, but you can also write completely new ones that reflect the life you’ve built together.

I can help with this if you’re not sure where to start.

Absolutely. Vow renewals are often a wonderful opportunity to involve children, grandchildren and other people who weren’t part of your original wedding.

I’m based in Exeter and conduct wedding and vow renewal ceremonies across Exeter, East Devon, Mid Devon, South Devon and North Devon. (There is a £75 surcharge for North Devon due to the travelling time from Exeter.)

If you’re planning something further afield, it’s still worth asking. I do travel. I’ve travelled as far afield as Canterbury, Kent to conduct a ceremony for someone who had seen one of my Devon ceremonies and decided that no-one else would do.

As this was a 10-hour round trip, an overnight stay was required plus a fee for loss of earnings elsewhere but this was fully agreed in advance.

If you’d like me to travel for your ceremony, I will provide you with a free bespoke quote before we proceed.

My bespoke wedding ceremony is £699 and a shorter basic ceremony is £499. A bespoke vow renewal is also £699, baby namings start from £499 and my optional sound package is £99. See my Prices page for what’s included.

We’ll start with a chat – usually by phone or video call, whichever you prefer.

It’s a chance for you to tell me what you’re planning, ask questions and see whether I’m the right person for you.

If you’d like to go ahead, I’ll send you a booking form and we’ll start planning your ceremony. I generally come and visit you at home about three months before your ceremony date. (For North Devon couples, we meet by video call.)

A £200 deposit secures your date. Your booking is confirmed once I’ve received your signed booking form and the deposit.

The rest of the fee is due 30 days before your ceremony. If you’re booking within 30 days of the ceremony, the full fee is due when you book.

The £200 deposit is non-refundable. If you cancel more than 30 days before your ceremony, I keep the deposit only. If you cancel within 30 days of the ceremony, the full fee is payable.

You’ll get my full terms with your booking form, so there are no surprises.

Yes. I hold a National Level 3 Diploma for Celebrants, a professional qualification accredited by OCN London (Open College Network London).

I’m also fully insured, with professional liability and malpractice insurance through Balens, underwritten by Zurich.

The earlier the better, particularly if you’re getting married during the busy summer months.

That said, don’t panic if your wedding isn’t years away. If I’m available, I’m always happy to talk to you about your plans. I once turned a ceremony around in ONE week when the couple’s situation required it!

Absolutely not. You might have a very clear idea of what you want, or you might have nothing more than:

“We definitely don’t want a boring wedding.”

Both are excellent starting points.

Part of my job is helping you work out what will make your ceremony feel right for you.

Tell me!

I’ve conducted themed weddings, game-shows, ceremonies by the sea and ceremonies involving flash mobs and celebrity performances.

I’ve also recently conducted a cowboy-themed wedding on an alpaca farm.

Yes, really.

That’s one of the joys of being a celebrant. You don’t have to fit your wedding into a predetermined template.

Your wedding can be highly traditional, wildly unconventional or anything in between.

No. I also conduct funerals, memorials and celebration of life ceremonies, as well as baby naming ceremonies.