Celebrant or registrar...what's the difference?

In a nutshell, both celebrants and registrars are the ones who stand at the front and lead your wedding ceremony. The difference is in the all-important content and the question of choice. 

If you booked a registrar to lead your ceremony, whichever registrar happens to be working that day will turn up at your ceremony and read from a set template of words, with your names added obviously! A celebrant is someone who will spend time getting to know you in the months before your wedding, so they can craft and write a bespoke and very personal ceremony, reflecting your personalities and your vibe. 

Whilst registrars can only marry you at licenced venues, celebrants can lead your wedding celebration anywhere, at any licenced or unlicensed venue, in the woods, on the beach, in a garden. The possibilities are endless.
At present, celebrants are unable to hold legally binding ceremonies in the UK and Wales, so it means you would need to separate the legal signing part from your actual wedding day. At the time of writing, in Suffolk, you can book a very simple Early Bird ceremony with just two witnesses for under £50, a few days or the week before your wedding. You can hold off your vows and ring exchange until your real wedding should you choose to.
If you can be open to that idea, you open a world of choices for your ceremony. Just as we celebrate birthdays on the day you were born, not on the day your birth was registered, so too would your actual wedding day differ from the date you were legally married and yes, you would have two anniversary dates to celebrate. In my eyes that can only be a good thing!

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