Hearts and Souls Celebrant

As Celebrants this has come to our attention, there are issues with some register offices no longer offering the option for couples to hold a '2 Plus 2' ceremony, (this is a ceremony for the bride, groom and two witnesses. This however is contrary to the Government guidance that couples should be entitled to a £57 statutory marriage ceremony if they choose. We are therefore taking action to challenge this.

Some districts are also actively deterring couples from using Celebrants and contacting local celebrants asking them to remove 'misleading' information from their websites.

It has been clear for some time that registrars are worried for their jobs and are therefore trying to mimic what Celebrants do, plus employ various tactics to prevent couples using celebrants. In reality, you cannot be a Celebrant and a Registrar as Celebrants at this time cannot legally marry couples.

As what they are calling a Celebrant, if working with the Registrar they will be bound by their rules which won't allow them the options we can offer you.

This what they can and can't do -

They can't hold a Ceremony where you want it to be unless it is a registered building, approved by the local council.

There must be two witnesses present at the ceremony and a registrar must carry out, or be present at, your ceremony.

Civil ceremonies can include readings, songs or music, (only what they agree to) but must not include hymns or readings from religious scriptures.

If you want a Religious Ceremony, again it must be in a religious building that is also registered.

Same-sex couples can only be married in a building registered for the marriage of same-sex couples

An authorised person, such as a religious minister, must attend the ceremony and register the marriage.

These conditions seem to have escalated since the LARCSA Conference in November 2023, where their keynote talk was entitled "Turning threats into opportunities".

 There is a meeting scheduled with LARCSA and two registrars have been booked to come and speak and take questions at the National Celebrants Convention. Rest assured we will do all we can to challenge this and promote fairness and transparency for couples.

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