What to expect from your celebrant-led ceremony
What are my options?
For people who marry outside of a church setting, they have two options – they can opt for a registrar or a celebrant.
Civil marriage ceremonies led by a registrar are usually only available Monday to Friday, and do not take place at weekends or on public or bank holidays (with some regional variances), whereas celebrants are generally available seven days a week.
Some celebrants can perform legally-binding ceremonies and some cannot, so be sure to check with your celebrant. If you see the word ‘solemniser’ after their name, you’ll know they can legally marry you.
The opening
In my opinion, a celebrant-led ceremony is quite structured, and within that logical structure there’s an array of options for personalisation.
I begin my ceremonies with a warm welcome for all the guests who have made such an effort to be there as you step into married life.
The welcome also provides opportunity to acknowledge a loved one who has passed away and whose absence is felt today (if applicable).
After that, I move into the couple’s love story. Prior to the day, I’ll have interviewed the couple to learn more about them; how they met, the proposal etc. Just as every person is unique, so too is their love story. Often guests will laugh and cry in the retelling of it, and it’s an emotive and memorable part of a wedding ceremony.
Next, there’s an opportunity to have some readings and poems if you wish to do so. Couples often opt for two or three, and these are usually read out by family and friends.
The heart of your ceremony
After that, we move to the heart of the ceremony which is the vow and ring exchange.
At this point, we’ll also have the ‘legal bit’ which is the declaration of no impediment to marriage. It goes like this:
Celebrant: “Do you X come here with the intention of being married to X?”
Bride/groom’s response: “I do.”
Celebrant: “And do you understand the civil impediment to marriage and solemnly declare that there is no impediment to your marriage to X?”
Bride/groom’s response: “I do.”
In relation to the vow exchange, couples have the option of choosing from a selection of pre-written vows that your celebrant will supply you with, or you can write your own.
The grand finale
Once the vow and rings have been exchanged, your celebrant will make the announcement that everyone has been waiting for, and it will be some variation of these words depending on the couple’s preference:
“I now pronounce you husband and wife (married). Let’s hear it for Mr and Mrs X.”
We’ll then take a moment to sign your MRF – the green folder as it’s more commonly called – and then you’ll walk back down the aisle as a newly married couple.
Enhancements
There’s an array of enhancements – which are sometimes called rituals or add-ons – to choose from. Your celebrant will chat you through your options to see if any resonate with you.
Popular choices include the lighting of the unity candles, ring warming, handfasting, and the sand ceremony.
Often seen in modern celebrant-led weddings, handfasting is an ancient Celtic ritual that involves joining a couple's hands together with a woven cord or ribbon to symbolises their union and commitment to one another. Handfasting is deeply symbolic and is a visual reminder of the deep connection shared by the two individuals who are coming together in marriage.
For a sand ceremony, the couple pour sand from two or more small separate containers into one larger vessel, which represents the joining of these two individuals and the creation of a new union or family. Once combined, the grains of sand cannot be separated and returned to their original containers, which signifies the permanence of the couple’s everlasting love.
Author: Catriona Doherty
For more from the Donegal wedding celebrant, see: @catrionadohertycelebrant on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, contact: 086 816 5962, or email: catrionadohertycelebrant@gmail.com