frequently asked questions

Which is better? Maybe this will help you decide…

Celebrant ceremonies are free from restriction, which means you can get married or have the funeral ceremony anytime, anywhere, and exactly in the way that you decide.

Want to involve family members? Include the story of how you met, or that heartfelt memory that holds so much value? Perhaps a symbolic rituals? Mixing traditions from your different cultures and religions to whatever degree you like? All of these aspects are possible, and you have complete creative control. The possibilities really are endless.

This means you get a truly personalised ceremony that includes all the elements you want and that really tells your story in a way that showcases what is most important to you or your loved one. It can be entirely reflective of your style, personality and taste. Plus, your celebrant will put a whole lot of love into giving you the most special and personalised ceremony that will hold such meaning and value, specific to you and what you want.

However, when it comes to registrar ceremonies it’s a very different story. With weddings, you can only get married in a licensed venue and the script is the same for every single couple. You also won’t be allowed to include any religious or spiritual elements and you won’t meet your register until the day.

The only advantage is that registrars can perform the legal aspect and, at the moment, a celebrant can’t. 

BUT this shouldn’t stop you from having a celebrant. You can very easily tick off this legal side by going to a register office on a date before your wedding day, tick the legal box and then have a celebrant led ceremony on your special day (see next FAQ). 

Similarly, the funeral ceremonies, a registrar will most likely stick to facts and a list a stream of dates, which we all know are the least interesting things about a person’s life. What date someone was born and what school they went to is largely irrelevant. Who the person was, what their values and interests were, what and who did they love, how did they spend their time, what will their legacy be…this is the fabric of a person’s life.

For all the detail, personalisation and meaning a celebrant ceremony will give you and your guests… the choice is obvious.

Unfortunately no, but….!

At the moment celebrants can’t legally marry couples in the UK, but a recent marriage reform bill means it won’t be long until we can! But until then, fear not, there’s a simple solution!

To tick off the legal side you will need to book in for a basic legal ceremony at a registry office (most people do this a week before their ceremony).
This simply involves saying a couple of scripted sentences and signing a bit of paperwork. This means you can save all of the special bits like exchanging rings and saying vows for your wonderfully personal celebrant ceremony with all of your friends and family.

You will also have to do something called giving notice before your legal ceremony, which is just signing another piece of paperwork to say that you intend to get married. All in all, the whole process will cost between £120-150 (depending on where you live) and I will happily help you along the way and can give advice on timings and the legal bit!

I’m happy to travel anywhere! My travel costs are included in my fee for any and all venues and meeting places within the M25. Any additional distance will be charged at industry standard, which is 56p per mile.

If the ceremony is happening abroad (firstly, how exciting!) then any travel and accommodation fees are indeed your responsibility.

As a writer, it’s very important for me to protect my intellectual property, and my literary works are included in this. Basically, any poem I write for you is entirely yours to use on your wedding day, and to recite and print anywhere you like in future, the only detail is that you’ll need to state anywhere it appears in print ‘written by Karen Whyte’. In a nutshell, the poem is yours to keep, but the authorship remains as mine.
I hope that makes sense!

Depending how far in advance you book me as your celebrant for your ceremony, it can vary based on the timeframe we have. I am great at working to a deadline, so even if you book me last minute we can have the script ready within days! However, generally for weddings or vow renewals you will always receive the first draft of your ceremony script two weeks after our initial meeting. Then we can edit it together up until two weeks before your big day.

For living memorials and funerals, similarly it can be flexible to work around your specific timeframe, but generally you will receive a first draft three to five days after our initial meeting, and of course we can edit and amend the script up until the day before the ceremony.

We can have a chat and I can answer any questions you have about symbolic wedding rituals, both in terms of the meaning but also the logistics!

A great resource is the wedding blog One Fab Day, and this page gives a brief overview of the most popular ones:
https://onefabday.com/ultimate-list-of-wedding-ceremony-rituals/ 

(My personal favourite ritual is the ring warming ritual!)

And of course, these rituals are not limited to wedding ceremonies. They can be used and adapted for funerals, living ceremonies and also naming ceremonies. I can discuss these further with you, answer any questions and even help you invent some of your own rituals that showcase and celebrate your loved one in a unique and personal way.