Hearts and Souls Celebrant

A registry office wedding is, as the name suggests, a wedding that takes place in a registry office. A registry office is a government building where every birth, death, adoption, civil partnership and marriage is registered in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Despite being a working office where many employees spend their days, there are rooms and spaces within the building that are specifically designed and decorated with weddings in mind. It may be an office by name, but registry office ceremonies take place in lovely surroundings. Many councils have registry offices located on their own premises, with dedicated grounds and gardens that are perfect for hosting a wedding. So, don’t be put off by hearing the words ‘office’ and ‘government building’. If you’re getting married on a budget or don’t want a large wedding, it’s worth visiting your local registry office to view the space and get a feel for what your ceremony could look like.

Registry office wedding ceremonies may be short and non-religious, and for me most but not all  lack the magic and romance of other types of ceremonies. Most ceremonies will follow a similar structure, but you can still personalise them and make them your own depending which you choose and within their constraints.

In a 2023 Wedding Report revealed that 2% of wedding ceremonies that took place in the UK last year were at a registry office. That means, with almost 400,000 weddings taking place a year in the UK, as many as 6,000 couples tied the knot at a registry office, but this figure contains the couples that only had a simple ceremony. 

Before we go on to the Advantages and Disadvantages I must mention you have to get married in a Registry office even if it is the vert short simple ceremony by law to complete the legalities.

Now we come to the Advantages and Disadvantage parts

Advantage: You can have the full Legal Wedding Ceremony in the Registry Office.

Disadvantage 1: Depending on the day of the week, Saturday, on a Sunday or a Bank Holiday, and the time slots available, the price can vary from £183+ (variable county to county) for a Simple ceremony (a couple and two witnesses) on a weekday  to £490+ (variable county to county) for a Enhanced ceremony (a couple and so many guests depending on the size of the facility) on a Sunday or Bank Holiday. On average the ceremony will last between 10 to 25 minutes. The difference in either ceremony is the number of guests

Disadvantage 2: Registry office wedding ceremonies cannot contain any references to God or religion, including hymns, readings or references in vows, which are a common choice for couples with no religious beliefs or couples with mixed beliefs. If you have religious beliefs and would like there to be references to them in your wedding ceremony, you unfortunately can’t get married at a registry office. 

Disadvantage 3: The Ceremony

• Prior to the start of the ceremony they suggest that you choose enough songs to be played whilst your guests are settling themselves in the ceremony room.
• As you enter the ceremony room, please bear in mind that any music chosen will only be played for around 30 seconds so one track is sufficient.
• Whilst signing the register, they suggest around 3 – 4 songs depending on whether you wish to have photographs taken with a blank register at this point. They will not allow you to have a photograph taken of you actually signing the register.
• As the couple’s exit, as with the entrance the music will only be played briefly for your walk down the aisle, so please choose just one track.
• All music tracks to be played at a Registry office is to be brought by the couple.

As you can see they like to have control

Registry Approved Venue Ceremony

Advantage: You can have the full Legal Wedding Ceremony in an approved venue by a registrar.

Disadvantage 1: Depending on the day of the week, the weekend and/or the time of year (Bank Holidays), the price can vary from £645+ (variable county to county) on a weekday to £750+ (variable county to county) depending if it's on a Saturday, Sunday or a Bank Holiday and the time slots available. The ceremony is basically the same as an enhanced one at the registry office.

Disadvantage 2: Registry Approved Venue wedding ceremonies cannot contain any references to God or religion, including hymns, readings or references in vows, which are a common choice for couples with no religious beliefs or couples with mixed beliefs. If you have religious beliefs and would like there to be references to them in your wedding ceremony, you unfortunately can’t get married at a registry approved venue, by a registrar you'll need to book a Minister and it will need to be at an approved venue by the church. 

Disadvantage 3: The Ceremony

• Prior to the start of the ceremony they suggest that you choose enough songs to be played whilst your guests are settling themselves in the ceremony room.
• As you enter the ceremony room and walk down the aisle, any music chosen will be played.
• Whilst signing the register, they suggest around 3 – 4 songs depending on whether you wish to have photographs taken with a blank register at this point. They will not allow you to have a photograph taken of you actually signing of the register.
• As the couple’s exit, as with the entrance the music will be played  for your walk down the aisle, so please choose just one track.
• All music tracks to be played at an approved venue during the service, must be approved by the registrar before hand.

As you can see again they like to have control.

Celebrant Led Ceremony

Here we will start with the disadvantages or should I say Disadvantage.

***The only disadvantage of a Celebrant led ceremony is that you still have to involve the registry office to legalise your marriage, the simple ceremony for £184+ (variable county to county) and that's it.***

The most important thing for you to know about Celebrant ceremonies, is that there are no rules.

Seriously. A celebrant isn’t bound by any rules or regulations whatsoever and, as such, but they are not recognised legally. As above this means that you’ll need to take a trip to your local registry office with two witnesses to make it official, but it also means that you can get creative with your ceremony and make it incredibly personal and unique. 

Celebrants work independently and are typically self-employed. Many have a particular personal style which they will describe on their promotion page or when you meet… Some prefer to hold ceremonies that feel like civil ceremonies, whereas others have pagan ties or other influences. When you start looking for and meeting celebrants, but you find a Celebrant that fits for you. 

A celebrant works with you to write and create your ceremony. This can include anything you want; the ball is well and truly in your court. Songs, readings and traditional practices, religious content and rituals are all things you might like to embellish your ceremony with, and you can have as many as you want!

When you choose a Celebrant ceremony, you’re choosing an event that’s a bit different…

If you have the kids or pets, get them involved. Pack in the readings, perform a scene from a play, or include a handfasting or tree-planting ritual in your ceremony if it’s something that makes your heart sing. A celebrant ceremony is all about celebrating your uniqueness as a couple.

Celebrant ceremonies can be held at any time of day; they can go on for as long as you wish, the itinerary is in your hands and not set out in time slots as registry led ceremonies which come with strict timings be it in their offices or approved venues.

Because Celebrant ceremonies aren’t recognised by law, you don’t need to find a registered venue to hold one, you can literally hold one any where subject to permission by the venue or land owner.