UK legal requirements to be a wedding celebrant?

June 22, 2010 4:11 AM

UK Weddings: What are the legal requirements for leading a wedding ceremony in the UK?

I have seen (expensive) courses advertised offering training in wedding celebrancy - but can find no information detailing the actual requirements / qualifications needed to lead a wedding.

I am not talking about religious services (for which I'd need to be ordained) but secular / humanitarian events.

Is there a register of celebrants?

Are there standard forms for the couple to fill out, or would they have to attend a registry office in addition to their own custom celebration?

Thanks.

posted by Ampa to Law & Government (6 answers total)

This is a pretty thorough guide to the whole thing.

The actual marriage is civil ceremony, which involves presenting documentation, signing papers and making a specific set of promises. This part is more or less set in stone, although you can add extra things to it (readings, music, but nothing overtly religious). And it has to be done by (or at least in the presence of a registrar), and can only be done in one of a set of specific venues (registry office, church, or other approved venue). The shortest version is generally about 15 minutes long, but registry offices usually offer a longer version with time for the extras. The basic ceremony is cheap (about £40 last time I checked with my local registry office).

Once the formal marriage ceremony is over (15+ minutes) you can have whatever kind of ceremony you like, wherever you like, subject to arrangement with your chosen celebrant. This has no real legal standing. The celebrant is usually someone who has done a short training course and recieved certification - the AOIC is probably a good first stop.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 4:57 AM on June 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

In Scotland, Humanist celebrants can legally perform marriages. Here are the details for becoming a celebrant, although it looks like they are not currently taking applications. In England and Wales, you can have a humanist wedding but it's not legally binding - the couple still has to do the registry office part.
posted by ukdanae at 6:36 AM on June 22, 2010

I know very little about this, but I would add that various venues (such as fancy hotels and smaller theatres) are "licenced for civil ceremonies" - which suggests that you would not necessarily have to have the ceremony in a registry office.
posted by sueinnyc at 7:16 AM on June 22, 2010

Yes, you do have choices when it comes to venues for the civil ceremony. Other than the registry office, there are plenty of licenced venues (hotels, gold clubs, etc.), and it's possible to apply for permission to hold the ceremony at pretty much any venue, provided (I think) it's a permanent building - so you can't do it in a field or on a beach. But most people just go with the default for the ceremony and then go on to a different location to do the other stuff.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 7:26 AM on June 22, 2010

Not gold clubs. Golf clubs. They seem to be a popular wedding venue for some reason.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 2:24 AM on June 23, 2010

Also, note that some venues (e.g. Anglican churches) are special in that they are not licensed venues like most licensed venues. Instead, the *Anglican minister* is licensed and can act without a registrar. This means you can't use some other person as celebrant and have the registrar there as you can do at some venues.
posted by blue_wardrobe at 12:28 PM on June 23, 2010