So my blog this week has to be around the Daily Mail article about Don't tell the Bride having fake weddings. You can read the article via this link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4786230/Don-t-Tell-Bride-FAKE-according-one-groom.html?ITO...

Ok so this links directly with what I do as a Wedding Celebrant.  Celebrant led weddings are on the increase and so if they are 'fake' weddings why are they gaining in popularity? 

Your options when you want to legally 'tie the knot' (which incidentally is an old Pagan and Celtic tradition for a hand-fasting) in England are to use the Church and have  religious service, or use the services of a Registrar at either the registry office or a licensed wedding venue and have a non-religious service.
 
Celebrants come in to play if you want your ceremony to contain something that the church or registrar will not accommodate (you will have to phone me for details as its too much for me to go into in a blog), or if you want your ceremony outdoors or at a venue where there is no licence. So if you want to marry in the barn on your parents farm, or close to the edge of a cliff, on the beach, on a boat or plane, in the woods etc.  then a registrar cannot help you - you will need a Celebrant!  I do get asked to do Weddings in licenced venues, where couples have already married and don't need a Registrar, or, who want their ceremony in a different part of the venue where the licence doesn't cover.

So is it real?  Well yes and no!  Celebrants in England cannot (yet) legally marry you, so for the 'legal bit'  we suggest a trip to the Registry office on a different date to sign the paperwork, but, that doesn't make your celebrant led wedding a 'fake'.  Marriages never used to have to have paperwork to be legally binding - its a relatively new requirement in the grand scale of things. 

When you join together as a wedded couple it is not the signature on the paper (how many times have we heard others saying - I don't care about the rings or the piece of paper?) that is the important bit - it is the joining of two people in love and commitment - there is nothing more binding or important (in my humble opinion).

So, you can decide whether Celebrant led weddings are fake, or whether they are a fantastic way of joining in love and commitment in a way that reflects your relationship rather than the requirements of the paperwork. 

As for the show, well I still love it - it has given many a couple inspiration both on how to, and, how not to do it.  It has to be watched 'tongue in cheek'!  Every episode that I have seen has made it clear that the couple were not legally wed and had to go to the registry office separately so where the 'shock headline' comes from is as much of a mystery as how the 'grooms' can get £2000 knocked off of their reception prices!

If you want to talk about your plans for your big day and how a Celebrant may be the best fit for you, please get in touch for a no-obligation chat. With love, Amanda Jane x