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Rituals can add a spiritual dimension to a ceremony. They can also offer an interesting cultural element. And, simply enough, they are often beautiful in their own right. There’s nothing to stop you incorporating rituals from other cultures, if you so desire. Your...

It goes without saying. If you’re holding a wedding, there will be guests. Well, actually, I have conducted more than one ceremony where we were only three, so it's actually not a given! Still, let’s ignore those exceptions for the purposes of this article! We can...

Most wedding services contain wedding vows recited by the couple. These may be traditional or novel. The traditional ones will be of the “for better or for worse” type. The novel ones can be personal and unique (“I promise to walk the dog every day”), maybe with some...

Unless you’re lucky and have personal knowledge of a celebrant, or you’ve seen them in action, you may well be in the dark about celebrants. Clearly, they should have a website and this should give you an idea of what they look like and, possibly, sound like. You may...

Saving money on a wedding is an attractive thought, but how realisable is it? A wedding is (hopefully!) a once-in-a-lifetime event. You’re not going to skimp on things, if you can help it. You want everything to turn out perfectly. Quality matters. So it's reasonable...

One of the beauties of celebrant-led ceremonies is that you can include whatever you want. Well, virtually. You are not obliged to follow standard ritual or liturgy. You can mark your occasion anywhere and in, more or less, any way you choose. So that can mean that...

The religious wedding is undeniably in decline, but still has a place for many. Sometimes, it is the couple’s choice; on occasion, outside influences (such as family pressure) may dictate the decision. Whatever the reason, marriage in places of worship accounts for...

Being a civil celebrant has its challenges. I never know quite what to expect when I contact my next client. It may be relatively simple. The client is looking to mark a major event in a joyous way. Or fairly solemnly. Or even a mixture … The point is that the client...

Of course I’m not alone in failing to find my vocation at first. I started my working life (apart from student jobs) in a merchanting company. I was singularly unsuited for this, in truth, and lasted about 18 months. I then became a teacher. While I was at university,...