Wedding Ceremonies – How to have your day, your way!

The choices that couples face when they decide to marry are vast and with the current

Covid-19 situation causing postponements and changes to plans we wanted to shine a light  on the wedding ceremony itself and highlight the options that are available to couples.

We recently caught up with independent celebrant – Penny Boycott - who has over 20years

experience in the wedding industry.  After 10 years as a Registrar in the East Riding area,

Penny struck out on her own and is now a highly sought-after independent celebrant in both the local area and further afield both nationally and internationally.

Penny started by explaining the different wedding ceremony options “you can really split the options into 5 core choices”

Church Ceremony

You can get married in a religious building subject to the requirements and criteria set down by each one.  These can be different depending on the religious denomination and the area in which it is situated.

Approved Venue

A popular choice is to marry in a registered room at an approved venue which could be a hotel, golf club or dedicated wedding venue with the local registrar conducting the ceremony.  This can be restrictive as no food, cake or bar can be set up in the same room for at least 1 hour prior to the ceremony and 1 hour after the ceremony so this can prove challenging for venues with restricted space in terms of set-up.

Sometimes weddings can take place outside, but it is likely that you will have to return insideto the registered room to complete the legal part of the ceremony as only permanent

structures can be registered.  Do consider that outside arbours or similar which may be

approved will only accommodate the main wedding party and the remainder of your guests will be sitting outside.

At least 28days notice must be given to the Register Office in the area that you live before

the marriage can take place.  

Register Office Ceremony

There is a Register Office in each registration district and you can have a ceremony there led by a registrar.  The service provided by the Registrar would be the same as at an Approved Venue.

You can also have a “no frills” ceremony which just covers the legal elements of the

marriage and costs around £50.  This option is not offered as a choice so you have to ask for it.

Celebrant Led Ceremony

This gives you the freedom to get married anywhere – literally - with a personalised and bespoke ceremony.  You would need to have the “no frills” legal element in advance (usually a couple of days before), but this means you can have a ceremony in your garden, on the beach, in a marquee, on a boat or somewhere that has special meaning to you as a couple.  There are no time limits and you can include toasts, hand tying, personalised vows, etc.  It can also be useful if the couple come from different religious faiths and they want to have something of both included in the ceremony.

Wedding Abroad

 You can get married abroad subject to visa’s. etc.  You would need to register your marriage when you return to the UK to ensure it is legally recognised.

"Celebrant led ceremonies are becoming more popular, but very often couples are not aware that it is an option, says Penny, yet it offers couples the opportunity to truly personalise their day and their ceremony.  With weddings usually booked sometime in advance I get to know the couples I work with very closely, understanding their story, what has brought them to this point and sharing that with their friends and family in the form of a bespoke ceremony on the day – it can be both emotional and inspirational, but in all cases fun and totally unique to the couple.”

#GiveCouplesChoice

Penny is passionate about her role as a Celebrant and the choice it gives to couples, so

much so, that it has led her to be heavily involved in the #GiveCouplesChoice Movement. 

This is a group of independent celebrants working to make all legal weddings equal.

The Wedding Celebrancy Commission has been lobbying parliament to change the law and

despite delays due to Brexit and Coronavirus the review period ended in January 2021 with

many celebrants giving their views as part of the process.  The key change they want

implemented is that you would have a registered officiant for your ceremony rather than a

registered venue.  These officiants would be regulated to ensure high standards are

maintained, but couples would gain the opportunity to be married anywhere.

Certainly, this approach would enable the wedding industry to pick-up more quickly after

lock-down restrictions are lifted and give couples more flexibility in progressing their wedding plans.

If you would like to discuss your forthcoming wedding ceremony plans or just need some

friendly advice on the options available, Penny can be contacted at:

www.penelopejayne.co.uk

hello@penelopejayne.co.uk

07548829029