I had an interesting discussion this morning with a potential client about why more and more people are using celebrants for the key life-cycle events in our lives, such as weddings.
This particular couple, to me, were not unusual - I have come across people in their circumstances many times as a Toastmaster. One of them is nominally Christian, but doesn't go to church, and the other is an atheist. They each have a child from previous relationships, and so this is not just about them "tie-ing the knot" with each other, but about creating a new family unit, where all 4 of them will have a say and a status.
So as I said, they were not unusual... although I guess 100 years ago it would have been very out of the ordinary. With the exceptions of the laws about civil partnerships in 2005 and potentially a new Marriage act for same sex couples nothing has changed in relation to wedding law since 1931 (at least according to Wikipedia!)
What this couple were looking for is a wedding ceremony that can both be traditional and yet accommodating for the needs of a modern family living in 21st Century Britain. I really liked that being a definition of why you might wish to use a Celebrant for your big day, and so asked them if I could steal it for this blog!
Matthew's Celebrant Blog
Tuesday 15 October 2013
Friday 20 September 2013
Why choose a celebrant?
There are few moments in our lives which are truly life
changing, such as the naming of a child, a marriage, or the death of a loved
one. Each of these moments is unique, special and emotional, and deserves to be
handled in a sensitive, appropriate manner.
Many people turn to religion for guidance and support
through such moments, but for those of us who do not have a faith, or for those
in mixed-faith relationships, where religion could be a complicating factor,
you may think that you have to “make do” with what the state can provide.
If you have been to 2 or more registry office weddings,
you’ll know that registrars read from a standard script. There is little
opportunity for the ceremony to be unique to you – to reflect your hopes,
desires, dreams and love for each other. That’s where the celebrant comes in. A
professional independent celebrant will work with you to understand exactly
what you are looking for in your
ceremony and to then write and deliver a truly bespoke, custom service, that
really does meet your needs.
There are really two parts to getting married – there is the
formation of the legal contract, which can be done very cheaply at a registry
office with just 2 witnesses, and there’s the ceremony – the time when you make
your public declarations of love in front of your friends and family. For most
of us, the ceremony is actually the most important part – it’s the bit we
remember, the bit our friends and family will talk about. It need not consist
of just 2 readings and a standard text – the opportunities for a really
meaningful and personal ceremony are endless.
You may have heard that for most people it’s not legal in
England to get married outdoors – well it’s true that it’s no permitted do the
marriage contract part outdoors, but your independent celebrant can officiate
at your service wherever you choose.
You may have thought that a civil wedding ceremony will be
over in just 20 minutes. That need not be the case – your independent celebrant
can provide the structure, ideas and format to create a meaningful service with
many elements that could take as long as you wish (and without your guests
becoming bored!)
You may have thought that weddings are a serious affair –
well they are, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun too. If you want a
themed wedding, then the service as well as the party could follow that theme.
Ceremonies can be as light-hearted or as serious as you want them to be – when
you get an independent celebrant, you get what you want!
Matthew Adam has been trained as an independent celebrant to
the highest standards by the UK Society of Celebrants, one of the premier
Celebrant Organisations in the UK. He is able to officiate at many family
occasions, and has a network of other Celebrants he can call on through the UK
Society if for any reason he can’t personally met your needs.
So if you are planning to get married, renew your vows, name
a child, or almost any other event which requires some form of structure,
service, formality or order, then get in touch with Matthew Adam, or a local
independent celebrant from the UK Society of Celebrants, for a no obligation
chat about the options and opportunities to make your day truly special.
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