Advice on choosing a celebrant.

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I often work with Staffordshire Registration service in delivering Combined ceremonies (see website page for more details) and I was very concerned to be told that on one occasion the Registrar and Celebrant from the service,  had arrived at a venue just as an Independent  Celebrant concluded their ceremony.

The couple and their guests believed they had just taken part in the "official" ceremony and that the Registrar was just there to "complete the legal paperwork". 

I was disappointed that  a Celebrant would "hoodwink" their clients in this way.   The bottom line is that all ceremonies undertaken by a Celebrant are non-statutory.  

Unfortunately, as a profession Independent Celebrants are still awaiting introduction of legislation which will ensure that all Celebrants reach an agreed level of competence and hold a recognised qualification.

My advice to anyone looking for an Independent Celebrant is to ask about their training and qualifications.  

Just as each couple is different so are Celebrants and it pays to interview a couple of people to see who you think understand you as a couple and will therefore tailor your ceremony to reflect this.



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