Wedding Officiants
There is a great variety in the type of Wedding Officiants available in the UK and they offer an equally wide variety of Wedding ceremonies. A high proportion of them have been fully trained and have a Diploma in Celebrancy, but are not registered so they are unable to legally marry a couple. They can perform very beautiful and personalised ceremonies for heterosexual couples, same sex couples and divorcees.
As this type of Wedding ceremony is not legally binding in the UK, it is also possible for the Wedding Officiant to be a relative or close friend of the couple.
Wedding Officiants – Religious Ceremonies
For many Wedding Officiants, the ability to legally perform a marriage is automatic. In the UK, Ministers, priests and rabbis in the Church of England, other Anglican churches, Roman Catholic church plus Jewish and Islamic leaders can all legally officiate at Wedding services. Some other religious leaders are however, not licensed and not able to legally marry a couple and in such cases often a registrar is in attendance for the Wedding ceremony.
If the Wedding Officiant is an Ordained Minister or a registrar, they are limited in the type of marriage ceremony they can conduct. Religious ceremonies are usually in a house of worship and follow an order of service that is rich in tradition and symbolism. A marriage ceremony conducted by a registrar is usually short and very direct and sometimes does not contain an exchange of vows or rings. Importantly, both of these types of marriage ceremonies are legal in the UK and the couple must sign the register which will then allow them to receive their marriage certificate.
