What Kind of Wedding Celebrant Are You looking For?

When you require the services of a wedding celebrant, online searches will give you many listings for wedding celebrants in your area, but this doesn’t mean they are the right wedding celebrant for you. The ‘one size fits all’ phrase isn’t true when you want to find the right wedding celebrant for you. There are different kinds of wedding celebrants offering specific styles of ceremonies. What kind of celebrant are you looking for?

Different Kinds of Wedding Celebrants

Finding one who fits your requirements shouldn’t be too difficult.

Different kinds of wedding celebrants include:

Alternative Celebrants
Celebrants who are alternative people with alternative lifestyles such as goth, punk, rock, metal, mod, Rockabilly, hippy, and any other music based subcultures.

Alternative celebrants should be able to offer and create personalised ceremonies incorporating and reflecting upon the lifestyles of those each ceremony is for.

Pagan Celebrants
Celebrants who follow a Pagan path, or who are Pagan Priestesses, Priests, or witches.

Handfasting Celebrants
Celebrants who specialise in handfasting ceremonies and build each ceremony around this Pagan wedding ritual, rather than add a short handfasting style ritual within a wedding, commitment, or vow renewal ceremony.

Vegan Celebrants
If you are vegans, it might be important to you to use vegan wedding suppliers, including your celebrant. This ensures your lifestyle, and vegan beliefs are shared by all and no animal products are used on your special day.

Theatrical Celebrants
Celebrants who specialise in ceremonies which are theatrical ceremonies such as paying homage to musicals like Rocky Horror or celebrants who have a ‘show person’ quality about them.

Singing or Performing Celebrants
Celebrants who can sing or play instruments to be included within your wedding ceremony.

Cosplay/Gaming Celebrants
Celebrants with knowledge of gaming, cosplay, or other interests who create unique ceremonies for others who are into gaming, cosplaying, or graphic novels

Specialising Celebrants
Celebrants specialising in certain ceremony themes, styles, or rituals. Some celebrants may have a specific knowledge and experience of creating ceremonies that celebrate cultures and traditions of others.

Humanist Celebrants
Non-religious celebrants who believe this life is the only life and there isn’t anything after death. Humanist celebrants may or may not agree to using spiritual content within your wedding ceremony should you request it.

Religious Celebrants
Celebrants with religious beliefs who write and lead wedding ceremonies with some religious content such as prayers or Bible readings.

It is essential you find the right wedding celebrant for you and your specific ceremony requirements. Many celebrants identify as an alternative celebrant, but the reality is there are very few real alternative celebrants around; celebrants who are alternative people 24/7, not celebrants who create a persona to try to cash in on alternative weddings.

Alternative celebrants and ceremonialists understand it is the ceremony content which determines if it is alternative, not décor, a coloured wedding dress or the ceremony location.

Image by Marianne Chua

Interview Wedding Celebrants

Venues and other people will make recommendations about celebrants. Shortlist those you are drawn to and ask to meet them on video call to interview them. You are trusting the right wedding celebrant with the task of writing your wedding, and they must be right for you.

I am honoured whenever anybody asks me to be their celebrant as it is a privilege to create the most important ceremony of a relationship or to mark a milestone in life.

I have been interviewed many times by people to see if I am the right celebrant for them. Some people decided I wasn’t the right celebrant for them and for some I have made suggestions for other celebrants who fit their requirements far better than I ever could.

It is never about the celebrant, it is always about those seeking a ceremony.

Ask prospective celebrants questions and avoid those who give you limited choices, ones who talk too much about them, or ones who seem to have limited knowledge. Check out their websites and social media accounts. Do they seem to have many of the same style of wedding images? If you are searching for a real alternative celebrant, are there images of previous alternative ceremonies with alternative people, or are there more traditional weddings on view?

If you are contacted by a celebrant or are in an alternative (especially goth) wedding groups on Facebook and a celebrant comments, make sure they are the right celebrant for you. Many celebrants comment in alt wedding groups trying to gain bookings. It is important to define your definition of an alternative celebrant and to find a celebrant who fits your definition.

If you require a Pagan celebrant, what branch of Paganism do you follow? Wicca is a new branch of Paganism with many who identify as alternative celebrants posting witchy or goth styles images, pentagrams, pentacles, and commonly seen images. Ask prospective Pagan celebrants what they can do, rather than them asking you what you want.

Norse Paganism is a way of life and a belief not just a popular theme with Viking cosplay. There isn’t anything wrong with a Viking theme, but it isn’t the same as a Norse Pagan ceremony. Calling in Gods and Goddesses and not having much knowledge of Paganism is disrespectful. If you require a Norse Pagan celebrant, we do exist.

Why it is Important to Find the Right Wedding Celebrant For You

Your wedding, handfasting, vow renewal or commitment ceremony should be all about you. It should be created for you, about you, because of you, and you are the centre of your ceremony.

It should mark a milestone in your relationship and the celebrant who gets to create and perform your ceremony should understand your needs and ‘get you’. Like attracts like and you should gel with your prospective celebrant so they can do what your require them to do.

They should make appropriate suggestions based on your ceremony information gathered by them. They should have ideas about your ceremony and not expect you to choose from limited options given to you.

Your ceremony is about you and not about your celebrant. They are your celebrant, you aren’t their ‘bride(s) and groom(s)’ or ‘their couples’. It is important to find the right wedding celebrant for you to ensure your ceremony is personalised, representative of you, and not a scripted name change ceremony, or one used for others. It should be your representation of your lifestyle, not what is thought to be relevant. (Goth weddings and Halloween weddings are very different, and not all goths want Addams Family quotes included).

Find the Right Alternative Celebrant

If you are looking for an alternative celebrant, find the right alternative celebrant. Goth weddings and metal weddings have similarities, but also are different. A black dress doesn’t mean it is a goth wedding as many alternative people wear black wedding dresses.

If you require a Pagan handfasting ceremony, find a real Pagan celebrant not one who offers Pagan themes. I, Ellie Farrell am a goth celebrant who is a Pagan Priestess specialising in handfasting ceremonies and alternative ceremonies for alternative people.

If you think I might be the right celebrant for you, contact me and we can arrange a video call without any obligation.

Further information on different kinds of celebrants

Main image by Dark Devotion Images