The Difference Between a Civil Celebrant Wedding & A Religious Wedding?

The Difference Between a Civil Celebrant Wedding & A Religious Wedding?

This article will talk you through the difference between a Civil Celebrant Wedding and a Religious Church Wedding. It will also highlight and discuss the pros and cons of both, and hopefully guide you in the right direction in terms of deciding which officiant you might want to choose for your special Wedding Day. 

When planning a Wedding, one of the first things to consider is ‘Who will be officiating my Wedding?’. This is something that can be quite important throughout the Wedding Planning process, and might be something you and your partner will want to discuss beforehand. Although, this question really does come down to whether you or your partner have religious beliefs, so this might have already become a conversation for the both of you…if not…then you might need to consider having that chat a little sooner! In this section, I will analyse and discuss the positive and negative elements to a Non-Religious Wedding conducted by a Civil Celebrant;

Non-Religious Civil Celebrant Wedding

Pros

Choosing who will officiate your Wedding is a vital and important part of the process, you will need to make sure both you and your partner are happy and comfortable with this decision. This might also cause a little bit of drama between the two of you, as it might be a slightly uncomfortable discussion or you might even feel pressured to choose a certain officiant due to the beliefs of a few friends or family members, but you must always remember; this is your day and your decision to make!! There are several options a couple could choose when deciding on who to officiate their Wedding, and one of the most popular options being a Non-Religious Wedding conducted by a Civil Wedding Celebrant. In the most recent years, Civil Celebrants have become more and more popular throughout the Wedding industry, and a lot of couples are now choosing to book Civil Wedding Celebrants over religious officiants (such as; Vicars, Priests or Ordained Ministers). The reason for this being, is because they are the most modern alternative to having a religious officiant, and Wedding Civil Celebrants are a lot more flexible, personal and bespoke. Whilst a Civil Celebrant is mainly a non-religious figure within the industry, some Civil Celebrants may also provide services or ceremonies which can include as much religion as you wish, which is why the majority of couples choose Civil Celebrants. Having the flexibility of a Civil Celebrant who can cater to your every need and ensure that your Wedding Ceremony is as personal and bespoke as possible. A Civil Celebrant will spend hours and hours with the couple within the lead up to the Wedding, listening to stories of how the couple met, and what their hobbies and dislikes are. The reason for why Civil Celebrants tend to do this, is to make sure that the ceremony includes as much of the couple as possible and less about the religious element. They might even ask to see photos of when they were young, to really gauge and understand the individuals personally. The Wedding Civil Celebrant will arrange several meetings with you within the lead up to the Wedding, either in person or via video call.

Another positive – or this could also be seen as a negative – is the duration and length of the Wedding ceremony. Usually a Wedding Ceremony conducted by a Wedding Celebrant is around 20 – 40 minutes long, so it’s not as long as a Church Wedding but also quite similar to the length and duration to a Registrar Wedding, which takes up to around 30 – 40 minutes. 

The final positive, which I think is probably the most important one of all, is the equality and freedom of having a Civil Celebrant. When the movement of Civil Celebrants began in the UK back in the 1990’s, it created a huge movement not only for the Wedding industry but also for the LGBTQ community and same sex marriages. Which is why a lot of same sex couples tend to choose a Civil Celebrant instead of a religious figure. When Civil Celebrants became known, this was a huge moment for a lot of same sex couples and it allowed everyone to marry, regardless of their race, age or sexuality. It also highlted the equality between heterosexual and homosexual relationships. During the 90’s – and unfortunately still now – there was a huge divide between the classes in terms of heterosexual and homosexual people, and a lot of abuse and crimes where being wrongly done towards homosexual individuals because of their choice in sexuality. So when Civil Celebrants began their movement, it was a really momentous occasion for a lot of people, and it allowed people to enjoy the greatness of marriage no matter who they were. Which I can happily say, is definitely a HUGE positive!

In this next section, i will discuss the cons of having a Wedding Celebrant for your special day;

Cons

Having a Civil Celebrant is a great way of keeping the ceremony bespoke and personal, however this does not mean that choosing a Wedding Civil Celebrant is totally the right choice for you and that they don’t come with a few negatives as well. The ceremony itself is not a legally binding ceremony, and you will not be officially married if you were to choose a Civil Celebrant to conduct your Wedding Ceremony. As some Wedding Celebrants are trained and some of them might take some Celebrant training courses or receive qualifications, but they are not legally permitted to marry two people together. A Wedding Celebrant is more there to create a fun and memorable moment, with lots of laughs, cries and special moments to remember and to look back on. If you were looking to legally bind your marriage so that it was official, you are more than welcome to arrange a Wedding Celebrant, however you must then also organise and book your Wedding through a registrar and have a ceremony at the registry office.

Another negative element to choosing a registrar is the cost, the majority of Civil Celebrants range their fees between £500 – £700, which can be quite costly for some people. These costs can also vary due to a number of circumstances; including, location, time of year and type of ceremony/service. For example, a Wedding Celebrant in London will be a lot more costly than a Wedding Celebrant in North Wales. So, it is important to do as much research as possible before going ahead with a Civil Wedding Celebrant.

Church Religious Wedding

In this next section, I will detail the pros and cons for having a Religious Church Wedding and explain why some people might decide not to choose a Civil Celebrant for their Wedding Ceremony. 

Pros

Although Wedding Civil Celebrants are becoming increasingly more and more popular within the Wedding industry, there is still a percentage of people who still want to involve religion or God into their special Wedding Day. Not only are you choosing a particular religious figure to officiate your Wedding, but you are also automatically choosing the venue as well – A Church! Churches or Cathedrals are beautiful venues for Weddings, and there is a real traditional feel when two people are married within a Church or Cathedral. The architecture of the inside of the buildings is usually filled with historic forms of art and ancient items of furniture, which can give a really special and traditional vibe to the Wedding. People do tend to like the thought of including such historic value to their Wedding Day and the thought of being surrounded by such beautiful infrastructure is a great addition to the day (also great for the photos!!)

Another great positive for having a Church Wedding with a Vicar/Priest or Ordained Minister is that your marriage together is made legal on the day. Some Wedding ceremonies (for example; Civil Wedding Celebrants) are not a legally binding ceremony and if you wish to celebrate your marriage legally, you will need to ensure that you also book a registrar and marry at a licensed venue or at a registry office. 

Cons

With all of this being said, there are also a few cons to having a Religious Wedding in a Church and there are also a few rules and regulations you must follow, if this is something you and your partner wish to do for your ceremony. Firstly, you need to include at least one bible reading during your ceremony, which if you are non- religious might be a little tricky! You must also adhere to the parish or church rules during the ceremony and to the lead up to the Wedding Day. This involves making sure that you attend a certain amount of church meetings at the chosen venue & during the ceremony you must remember to always dress accordingly and to be respectful of the building and its surrounding during the Wedding ceremony. In addition to this, you must also be a part of the local parish to conduct your Wedding Ceremony at a particular Church, or you must have a close family member who is either a part of the local parish or has been married at said Church. 

Although this may be a positive for some people, this is sometimes seen as a negative element to Church Weddings…the duration! A typical Church Wedding will take up to 45 minutes to 1 hour for a Wedding Ceremony, which is a lot longer than a Wedding conducted by a Civil Celebrant or a Wedding conducted by a Registrar. If you are also a non-religious person, sitting 45 minutes to an hour, listening to religious hymns or readings might become slightly tiresome for some people. This something you may want to consider when looking to book either a Civil Celebrant or Religious officiant at your Wedding. 

Another major negative, which is quite a big one, is that Same Sex Marriages are not permitted to be held in the Church of England. Which is why a lot of same sex couples tend to choose a Civil Celebrant to conduct their Wedding, as they would allow these marriages to take place. As mentioned previously, Civil Celebrants only started their movement in the 1990’s, so before this, gay or homosexual couples would not be allwed to marry under any circumstances, so having the movement of Civil Celebrants was very important. Which is why a lot of people have strayed away from Religious Weddings.

In terms of costs, it is also quite expensive to hold your Wedding Ceremony in a Church so this might come as a bit of a negative element to a few people looking to get married. These costs are variable due to a few different things, one of them mainly being whether you live inside or outside of the local church parish. In the UK the average cost for hiring a Vicar/Priest/Ordained Minister, if you live outside the parish, starts at £517 and for couples who live inside the parish, these fees start at £474. Even though this might be slightly cheaper than a Wedding Celebrant, it can also be quite costly for some people and may put certain people off the idea of having a Church Wedding at all.

In conclusion, there are both many negatives and positives to having either a Non-religious Wedding conducted by a Civil Wedding Celebrant to having a Religious Church Wedding conducted by a Vicar/Priest/Ordained Minister. The simple answer is to choose whichever you feel more comfortable with and what you and your partner wish to choose (not anybody else). It is crucial to talk to your partner about this beforehand to ensure that the both of you are on the same wavelength and that you are both happy with the decision, no matter what!

At bookacelebrant.co.uk, we have a number of talented Civil Celebrants, Wedding Celebrants & Ordained Ministers to choose from, waiting for your enquiry! You can also receive a quote within 60 seconds by clicking our instant quote button on this page, which will also get you in contact with a professional Celebrant today!We have also recently posted a new blog which is called ‘What is A Civil Celebrant?’, which you can find here!