Do you need a celebrant and a registrar?
It is the question I am asked more than any other, and the honest answer takes about a minute to explain. Here it is, without the jargon.
In England and Wales, yes, you need both. A ceremony led by an independent celebrant is not a legal marriage. The law here still ties legal marriage to a registrar and an approved building, so the paperwork happens separately, usually at a register office, and it is quick and inexpensive.
What that means in practice: you sign the legal register in one short appointment, then you have your real ceremony wherever you like, on whatever day you like, with whatever words you like. Most of the couples I work with do exactly that, and nearly all of them say the second part is the one they remember.
Two separate things, often confused
A registrar and a celebrant are not two versions of the same job. They are doing completely different work, and only one of them is about you.
A registrar
A council official who records your marriage in law. The wording is set by statute, the venue has to be a register office or an approved premises, and there is no room to change any of it.
It is an administrative act, and that is all it is meant to be.
A celebrant
Me. I write and lead a ceremony that is entirely yours: your story, your words, your people, anywhere you want to stand. No fixed script, no approved venue list, no restrictions on what we can include.
I cannot sign the legal register, and I would never pretend otherwise.
How couples in Shropshire actually do it
Three steps, and the first two are mostly admin. Both of you give notice in person at the register office for the district where you live, at least 28 clear days before the legal ceremony and up to twelve months ahead.
- Give notice. An appointment each at the register office, in person. You cannot do this on someone else's behalf.
- Have the statutory ceremony. A short, basic registration with the two of you and two witnesses. Many couples treat it as a quiet morning with their parents, not an event.
- Have the ceremony that matters. Any venue, any date, any shape, led by me and written with you.
What the legal part costs
- Giving notice, per person. Set by central government, so every council charges the same. £46.50
- A basic statutory ceremony at the register office in Shrewsbury on a Wednesday, including two certificates. £87
Those are Shropshire Council's own published figures, correct as I write this in October 2026. Fees are reviewed every April, so please check the current Shropshire Registration Services fees before you budget. If you live in Telford and Wrekin, you give notice to your own council instead.
So the legal side of getting married in Shropshire comes to a little under £200 between you. That surprises people, and it is usually good news, because it means the budget and the imagination can go on the day itself.
What doing both actually buys you
Once the legal part is done quietly in its own appointment, every restriction that comes with it disappears.
- Any venue at all: a garden, a barn, a hilltop, a village hall, the room you got engaged in. It does not need approving by anybody.
- Any day and any hour, including Sundays and bank holidays.
- Your own words, your own vows, readings, music and rituals, with nothing struck out for being unofficial.
- Anyone you like involved: children, a dog, grandparents who cannot travel far, a friend who is going to cry.
- As long or as short as suits you. I have led ceremonies of fifteen minutes and of an hour.
The law on this is under review
It is worth knowing, because it may change. The Law Commission recommended in 2022 that independent celebrants should be able to conduct legally binding weddings. In July 2026 the Ministry of Justice opened a consultation called Tying the Knot: Reforming weddings law in England and Wales, which proposed shifting the law away from approved buildings and towards the officiant leading the ceremony, and said independent officiants should be allowed to marry people legally.
That consultation closed on 24 September 2026. The government has not yet published its response, there is no bill and no date, and ministers have said they will legislate when parliamentary time allows. Until something actually passes, the position above is the law, so please plan around it rather than around the headlines. Humanist marriages are already legal in Scotland and Northern Ireland, which is where a lot of the confusion comes from.
If it does change, I will update this page. In the meantime, if you read something suggesting celebrant weddings are now legal in England, it is not yet true.
Funerals, namings and vow renewals need no registrar at all
This is the part that gets lost. The registrar question only applies to a legal marriage. Every other ceremony I lead is completely free of all of it.
Funerals
No registrar, no legal wording, no approval needed. A death is registered separately as an administrative matter, and it has nothing to do with the service itself.
Naming ceremonies
A naming has no legal element whatsoever. The birth registration is a separate errand at the register office.
Vow renewals
You are already married, so there is nothing to register. No notice, no paperwork, no fees to the council.
Living memorials
A ceremony held while someone is still here to hear it. No legal process of any kind.
The questions I get asked next
Is a celebrant a registrar?
No. A registrar is a council official who registers your marriage in law using fixed wording. A celebrant writes and leads a personal ceremony and has no legal authority to register a marriage in England or Wales.
Can you have a celebrant and a registrar?
Yes, and it is the usual arrangement. You complete the legal registration with a registrar, normally in a short separate appointment, and have your celebrant ceremony where and when you want it.
Are celebrant weddings legally binding in the UK?
Not in England and Wales. They are legally binding in Scotland, and humanist marriages are also legal in Northern Ireland. The law in England and Wales is under review but unchanged as of October 2026.
Can the registrar come to our venue instead?
Only if the venue is on the council's approved premises list, and the registrar's wording is still fixed. Plenty of Shropshire venues are approved, so it is worth asking, but it buys you the building rather than the freedom.
Which comes first, the legal bit or the ceremony?
Either. Some couples register quietly weeks beforehand and arrive at the ceremony already married. Others do it the same morning. It is entirely your choice and makes no difference to the ceremony.
Do we have to tell our guests?
Not at all, and most people do not. The ceremony with your people in it is the one that counts to everybody present.
Still not sure how it fits together?
Ring me and ask. I have had this conversation many times and I am happy to walk you through it with no obligation at all, even if you decide a registrar on their own is all you want.