FAQ

The Answers You Need

Why should I have a Celebrant?

Because a celebrant ceremony does not include the legal element of your marriage, it is not bound by rules or regulations that mean that you have to marry on a premises licensed for weddings. Therefore, you can have your wedding anywhere (providing, where you need permission, you have permission). This could be a beach, a forest, your garden, the park, anywhere any time of day, inside or outside.

Also, the structure of your ceremony is up to you and can include just about anything you like - hand-fastings, ring-warmings etc. You can also involve as many people as you like, it is your day, build it the way you want, don't let the way things have been done in the past get in the way of your future.

You said the ceremony doesn't include the legal elements, what does that mean?

While a Celebrant wedding is a personal and meaningful way to celebrate your day, unless a Registrar is present it will not be a legally binding marriage.

Before your ceremony you will need to officially marry as recognised by English law in a registry office, place of worship, or licensed venue by a minister of religion.

However, that does not have to detract from your ceremony; many couples do the legal bit at some point before the ceremony (which may be earlier in the day, the day before or weeks before). You don't have to tell your guests - to all intents and purposes they will view your ceremony as the actual wedding.

I can help you with anything you need to know on this matter, but for more information on the legal aspects of your marriage in a Registry Office, place of worship or other licensed premises, please see the Government website here: https://www.gov.uk/marriages-civil-partnerships

How far are you willing to travel?

I’m based in Suffolk and London but I am available for ceremonies across the UK and Internationally.

Please do ask me about a location and I will be happy to give you a quick answer on whether it is feasible or not.

Can we write our own vows?

Absolutely! Using ones own vows is very personal and powerful. Meaningful is memorable.

What is a Civil Partnersip

A civil partnership is a legal relationship which can be registered by two people who aren't related to each other. Civil partnerships are available to both same-sex couples and other- sex couples. Registering a civil partnership will give your relationship legal recognition. This will give you added legal rights, as well as responsibilities.

Once you have registered a civil partnership, it can only be ended if one of you dies, or by applying to court to bring the partnership legally to an end.

As civil partners, you may choose to draw up an agreement, known as a pre-registration agreement, before you register your partnership. A pre-registration agreement can set out your rights and obligations towards each other and, in particular, what should happen if your relationship breaks down. It can include arrangements for children and your personal possessions, for example, the family home and any pensions.

Some people choose a Civil Partnership over Marriage because they do not like the idea of certain religious connotations. For many, marriage no longer fits with modern day ideologies.

How long will our ceremony last?

Ceremonies can be as long or short as you like. I usually recommend something in the region of 20-25 minutes from introduction to ending. This keeps people engaged and doesn't overstretch for anyone with individual needs.

Once we have settled on whether you want readings or other elements to your ceremony, I can tell you how long the ceremony will be and we can adapt things if you would like anything added or removed.

How much notice do you need?

The more notice you can give the better as this means you get the date you want. That said, if I am free I can do any ceremony at short notice.

My friend says they can do my ceremony, why do I need you?

While I am sure your friend is a very capable person, wouldn't it be lovelier if they could be part of your ceremony in a different way and just enjoy the day?

Using a professionally trained celebrant for your ceremony ensures that you are in safe and professional hands. I trained with the very highly rated International College of Professional Celebrants. I undertake Continued Professional Development to ensure I keep my skills honed and keep up to date with the latest ideas.

I am here to take the strain so you and your friend can enjoy your special day.

FAQs: FAQ

Diversity and Inclusion Statement

My Policy

Helping make a Better World

I appreciate the importance of creating an environment in which all my colleagues, associates and clients can feel valued, included and empowered to be their best.

I recognise that the unique experiences, perspectives, and viewpoints of our various partners, associates and clients are critical to creating an atmosphere that is engaging and inspiring to everyone.

Therefore, my goal is to foster a business that is attractive to everyone no matter their background or or their requirements

I welcome clients and associates who:

Embrace different cultures, ethnicities, genders and sexual orientation
Create a work environment that fosters growth and advancement
Who will engage with my clients in a way that reflects and respects their unique perspectives and experiences.

FAQs: Accessibility Policy

PRIVACY POLICY

Collection and Use of Personal Information

Our privacy policy is here to explain how we might use information gathered through this website.

How we use your information

This privacy notice tells you what to expect when we collect personal information. It applies to information we collect about:

visitors to our websites
people who use our services, eg who subscribe to our newsletter or request a publication from us
people who notify us under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
job applicants and our current and former employees
complainants and other individuals in relation to a data protection or freedom of information complaint or enquiry

Visitors to our website

When someone visits our website we collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. We collect this information in a way which does not identify anyone. We do not make any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting our website. We will not associate any data gathered from this site with any personally identifying information from any source.

If we do want to collect personally identifiable information through our website, we will be up front about this. We will make it clear when we collect personal information and will explain what we intend to do with it.

Use of cookies

Cookies are small text files that are often placed on your computer when you browse through websites. We use cookies to help us provide our users with a better experience by, for example seeing which pages are read more than others and providing more content in that area. Cookies also help to provide certain features.

The cookies we use are ‘analytical’ cookies. They allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around the site when they’re using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example by making sure users are finding what they need easily.

We have audited our use of cookies and believe that they are reasonable and not intrusive. Cookies we use can never directly identify an individual user and we would not want to.

Cookies are used to collect information about how visitors use our site. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the site. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited.Click here for an overview of privacy at Google

Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites visit http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

People who use our services

We offer various services to the public. For example, we send out publications and distribute an electronic newsletter. We use a third party to deal with some publication requests, but they are only allowed to use the information to send out the publications.

We have to hold the details of the people who have requested the service in order to provide it. However, we only use these details to provide the service the person has requested and for other closely related purposes. For example, we might use information about people who have requested a publication to carry out a survey to find out if they are happy with the level of service they received. When people do subscribe to our services, they can cancel their subscription at any time and are given an easy way of doing this.

Job applicants, current and former employees

When individuals apply to work at our company, we will only use the information they supply to us to process their application and to monitor recruitment statistics. Where we want to disclose information to a third party, for example where we want to take up a reference or obtain a ‘disclosure’ from the Criminal Records Bureau we will not do so without informing them beforehand unless the disclosure is required by law.

Personal information about unsuccessful candidates will be held for 12 months after the recruitment exercise has been completed, it will then be destroyed or deleted. We retain de-personalised statistical information about applicants to help inform our recruitment activities, but no individuals are identifiable from that data.

Once a person has taken up employment with our company, we will compile a file relating to their employment. The information contained in this will be kept secure and will only be used for purposes directly relevant to that person’s employment. Once their employment with our company has ended, we will retain the file in accordance with the requirements of our retention schedule and then delete it.

Complaints or queries

We try to meet the highest standards when collecting and using personal information. For this reason, we take any complaints we receive about this very seriously. We encourage people to bring it to our attention if they think that our collection or use of information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate. We would also welcome any suggestions for improving our procedures.

This privacy notice was drafted with brevity and clarity in mind. It does not provide exhaustive detail of all aspects of our collection and use of personal information. However, we are happy to provide any additional information or explanation needed. Any requests for this should be sent to the address below.

Access to personal information

We try to be as open as we can be in terms of giving people access to their personal information. Individuals can find out if we hold any personal information by making a ‘subject access request’ under the General Data Protection Regulation. If we do hold information about you we will:

give you a description of it;
tell you why we are holding it;
tell you who it could be disclosed to; and
let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.

To make a request for any personal information we may hold you need to put the request in writing to the address provided below.

If you agree, we will try to deal with your request informally, for example by providing you with the specific information you need over the telephone.

If we do hold information about you, you can ask us to correct any mistakes by, once again, contacting us at the address provided below.

Disclosure of personal information

In many circumstances we will not disclose personal data without consent. However when we investigate a complaint, for example, we will need to share personal information with the organisation concerned and with other relevant bodies.

You can also get further information on:

agreements we have with other organisations for sharing information;
circumstances where we can pass on personal data without consent for example, to prevent and detect crime and to produce anonymised statistics;
our instructions to staff on how to collect, use and delete personal data; and
how we check that the information we hold is accurate and up to date.

Changes to this privacy notice

We keep our privacy notice under regular review. We may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This privacy notice was last updated on 22nd February 2024.

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