So, just what is the difference between what we do and what a registrar does?
It is a question we are often asked and one that is often misunderstood. There are a few things to note, so here goes. . .
What exactly is a Celebrant?
"A celebrant is an individual who is trained in providing you with a custom-made ceremony, designed to celebrate any ‘right of passage’ in a way which is personal to you, without legal obligation or government restriction."
Please see my handy blog that explains this in more detail.
What is a Registrar?
A Registrar is a government employee who carries out the registration of Births, deaths, and marriages. They work in their council offices but can also come out to your venue. Their ceremonies are scripted and you can choose from a traditional, non-traditional or semi-traditional version. They conduct many ceremonies a day and the two legal aspects take around 6-10 mins.
Find your local Registration office, along with other information on their colourful web pages here.
What are the key differences?
There are many, but some of the key differences are outlined below:
DID YOU KNOW?
Your vows, rings, kiss, and pronouncement are all CEREMONIAL
(not legal aspects) and can therefore take place anywhere with a CELEBRANT
and be personalised to suit YOU.
What can be included?
A registrar sadly has a lot of restrictions surrounding their ceremonies, and this includes content (no religious references or connotations, including song titles or lyrics), time of day (they have limited slots and often you only have an early or late time if it's a busy day, plus you can only marry in licensed settings.
With a celebrant there are NO RESTRICTIONS, you can get wed anywhere, at any time, and with any format, content, or style that YOU want.
We welcome all couples and can include any readings, prayers, cultural aspects, elements of faith, family members or indeed rituals and traditions too.
What are the legal parts of a wedding?
The two legal parts of any marriage in England (at the moment) are responding to the declaratory/contracting words and signing the paperwork.
These transactional elements can be completed at your LOCAL register office for around £50 (plus admin fee for the registration of your marriage which you have to do in any case), leaving you free to do everything else the way you want to.
How long do both options take?
Registrar
This can be broken down in a few ways:
1) Firstly, the registrar can do the two legal aspects only (STATUTORY SIGNING) at the registration office, and this takes on average 6-10 mins and requires two witnesses only.
2) They can also conduct a small ceremony at their offices for you and your guests (capacities vary) and this can take 10-15 mins.
3) Or they can come out to your venue for a brief interview with you both, and then a ceremony that takes approximately 10-15 mins and includes notification that the venue is licensed, and you can add your own vows, but this is a templated script.
Celebrant
With a celebrant, the experience is much more involved. We spend on average about 30 hours+ on each couple and their ceremony creation.
It involves:
- an initial consultation
- a summary of our discussion and confirmation of all requirements
- a draft script (this evolves across 7-10 versions and is completed with your input throughout)
- many communications on email, Zoom, phone calls
- a venue visit and walk-through of all logistical details so you feel comfortable
- all research, writing, planning, and preparation
- supplier and venue liaison
- early arrival on the day to greet everyone and to ensure the correct setup
- delivery of your fabulous ceremony
- post-ceremony blog
- plus lots of other elements that our couples love!
We have lots of great Google reviews so you can hear directly from those that have hired us to create and conduct a bespoke and personal ceremony. Feel free to hop over and see for yourself. . .
What are the Fees for both options?
Well, this is the really interesting part.
The registrar has three fee options depending on which of their services you require. They start at £50 for the signing only at their offices, to £700+ for their attendance at your venue. The signing-only option means it is easily achievable for couples to do this and then work with a celebrant at their venue on the wedding day itself.
(Read on for the hourly rate comparison!)
Often misunderstood, the celebrant fee is for much more than just having a person who turns up and reads. We split our fees into three so it is both manageable for couples, but also so that they can see clearly what they get for each part of the fee.
1) When couples book us they pay a hire fee which secures their date, covers the writing of the draft ceremony, a venue visit plus all meetings and communications.
2) The second payment covers additional writing and script updates (it evolves across many versions as we create it together with you).
3) The third and final payment covers all ceremony prep, final updates, sign-off, certificate and presentation folder preparation and printing, use of our equipment (PA system, etc if required), attendance on the day (three hours+), and your very own wedding day blog with our behind the scenes pics and an account of your day.
We are very transparent about our fees, and what is included. So, as you can see, it isn't one fee for us to just turn up with a template script.
It's a comprehensive, reassuring, and well-reputed service that we provide, and we only do one wedding a day (so we are all yours, without any rushing).
Read all about our Fees and FAQ here.
THE COMPARISON!
A registrar charges roughly £700+ for 20 mins (plus their brief interview with you both on the day). That's a whopping £2100+ per hour.
We spend 30 hours plus on our couples which equates to roughly £28 per hour.
Which should I choose?
This is such a personal choice, so I usually suggest going right back to basics and asking yourself if you want a templated script or a personal fun, and memorable one! Do you just want it all done and dusted and over quickly (by a registrar)? Or do you want something more guided, unique, and written all about YOU (the celebrant option).
The registrar has the option to do the legal parts within a ceremony, but you can have a HYBRID CEREMONY and have them attend your venue to open the ceremony and do the two legal bits and then we complete the ceremony with your very own bespoke celebration. You will pay for two officiants with this option but if you have no budgetary constraints, or are happy to invest in this part of your day, then we are of course happy to work with the registrars (who are generally really lovely people by the way! They are just bound by outdated laws and some very restrictive regulations!).
99.9% of the time, we work with couples who are looking for a bespoke and personal ceremony experience, and who fully embrace all that we can do for them. If you feel that this could be something you would like, let's chat.
We look forward to creating something very special together!
Other handy pages that you might like. . .
MEET THE KNIGHT CEREMONIES TEAM
MULTI-CULTURAL OR MIXED FAITH WEDDINGS
