Humanist Wedding Celebrants Northern Ireland and Belfast
Humanist Wedding Celebrants in Northern Ireland in no order and I’m sure they conduct ceremonies in lots of different venues and locations. Belfast, Derry, Lisburn, Newry and also throughout the country.
A wedding celebrant in Northern Ireland conducts a ceremony unlike a religious ceremony as a humanist tells more of a story of how the couple met and tends to keep the religious details to the start and end. Each one is a fantastic humanist wedding celebrant and maybe even Ireland too, not sure if they work in NI and the south of Ireland. This isn't a best of or anything like that.
Would you be interested in Photos of your Ceremony?
If you are interested in photos, please contact me.
Wedding Celebrants in the Venue
There are many great humanist wedding celebrants in Northern Ireland, and these are just a couple. I’ve included website or Facebook pages and contact info on each so you can contact them directly. Good luck to you. Due to the country's hit or hit-or-miss weather, most are conducted inside the venue, which is understandable.
Stewart Holden
Stewart Holden is the head of Northern Ireland and is accredited for weddings across the country. He's on the committee of Northern Ireland humanists and delivers unique and individual ceremonies. Stewart was the wedding celebrant who conducted this couple’s wedding in The Mill at Ballydugan, which is located in Newcastle, County Down. The ceremony was jolly good fun telling the story of how they met and some family history too.
How long has the celebrant been conducting weddings? Since 2018
Address: Newtownabbey, but conducting all over NI
Phone: 07971 634098
Website: https://humanist.org.uk/stewartholden/weddings
Watch a snippet of Stewart in action below.
As well as your wedding band have you booked your photographer or videographer? Contact me for any enquiries.
Wedding Celebrants outside the Venue
Outside the venue would be great but not always possible.
John Foley
John Foley wedding celebrant in County Fermanagh conducted a ceremony which is an island located in Lower Lough Erne …I attached my small portable audio recorders on John Foley and the groom. You couldn't ask for better weather at wedding but the proceedings were slightly behind schedule due to people wanting to cross the ferry to get to the Island Kim…
How long has the celebrant been conducting weddings: Unknown
Address: Ballycastle conducting all over NI
Phone: 07949 114455
Website: https://www.facebook.com/JohnFoleyHumanistCelebrant
Cathy Graham
Cathy Graham is one of many wedding celebrants in Belfast and other towns, which is about 9.2 miles and quite close to the city ...The ceremony was held outside with the humanist celebrant Cathy Graham conducting which was nice but very challenging as there were no clouds at all (not ideal lighting conditions). The ceremony started and Joanne made her stunning entrance after the girls with her dad walking her up the aisle...
Other Wedding Celebrants
Some other wedding celebrants to consider when doing your research.
Karen the Celebrant
Karen the Celebrant is a humanist wedding celebrant in Belfast serving all of NI. Karen works with couples to further understand what vibes they want for their ceremony which can include words, poetry and music.
How long has the celebrant been conducting weddings: Unsure
Address: Dublin Rd, Belfast BT2 7SJ
Website: https://www.karenthecelebrant.com
and also Spiritual Weddings Northern Ireland, Sheena Bradley Humanist Wedding Celebrant.
FAQs
Some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and common questions.
What do Celebrants charge?
I believe the average wedding celebrant charges £500-£600 with some slightly more expensive at £700 but like most things varies with experience and a few other things to factor in too. Ask if the prices include registration fees and your celebrant. Does the celebrant charge for travel, and what length of time has the celebrant been conducting ceremonies?
Difference between Celebrant and Humanist
Some humanists may permit the singing of a hymn but there would not normally be any prayers or reading of passages from the bible. A celebrant on the other hand will tailor the service to your wishes allowing as much or as little religious content as you want.
Can a Celebrant legally marry you?
The only celebrants legally allowed to marry you are called Northern Ireland Humanists celebrants which is part of Humanist Ceremonies overseen by Humanists UK.
Is my Marriage legal?
Talk to a humanist and your registered office but it is completely legal and recognised worldwide. You need to give notice to the registrar in your council before the wedding, then pick up the schedule before and return it completed afterwards. The registrar then issues the marriage certificate. The humanist celebrant you book most likely will do all the paperwork including collection and completion for you. You just need to sign it on the day.
Where do celebrants conduct weddings?
Most conduct weddings all over NI including Belfast, Lisburn, Derry/Londonderry, Portadown, Armagh, Newry, Ballymoney, Ballymena, Cookstown, Enniskillen and many other towns and cities in the province. Just contact one on this page for more info.
Want to be included here?
Are you a humanist wedding celebrant in NI and want to be included on this page? Comment below.
What the difference between a Celebrant and a Registrar
This can be confusing so I’ll try to explain. A celebrant is a person who works with you to create and perform your wedding ceremony in your venue on the day and time you choose. Some can perform the legal aspect and some can’t. They can legally marry you in a warm, personal ceremony on your special day. Typically a Civil Registrar is employed by the government to provide a legal marriage ceremony and they are also responsible for registering couples’ intent to marriage and supplying the paperwork. They have set locations, days, times and content permitted in the ceremony. Here are a few differences between a celebrant and a registrar and a couple of points to think about before booking either one.
Nothing religious can be included in a registrar wedding but you can include poetry, music and singers to help personalise it.
We recently got married at my family farm with a registrar from our local council. We had a family member do a reading halfway through so our ceremony lasted around 35 minutes which we felt was a perfect time! Maybe consider some family contributions to make it more personal.
Registrars are just straight to the point and get it done. Celebrants give a personalised service and honestly, it was worth every single penny for us. Would highly recommend a celebrant if you can stretch your budget!
With a registrar, you can have someone do a reading or music in the middle to beef it out a little and make it feel more personal.
Due to budget, we're going with a registrar and for £200 you can't complain there are two speech options, at the beginning or end, you can have both. You can have music, poetry and poems. Yes, celebrants are way more personal but if your budget doesn't look to stretch you will not be losing out.
We booked a registrar and then had a friend write the ceremony with us and perform it. It was super personal and lovely.
We had a humanist ceremony and if you had any wiggle room to maybe budget less for something else it’s honestly worth every penny we had ours met with us before the wedding and had us fill out our questionnaires beforehand it was so personal.
Celebrants are so much nicer and more personal.
Other things on the Registrar or Humanist debate
Even though they both do the same job which is legally marrying you they are different, which might sound odd. I’ve been to both types many times and each is a great option.
Using a registrar is good if you don’t want to bother having to research celebrants as you just need to contact the council where you are getting married. The service itself is short and snappy, but you can have readings and poems by family and friends. Drawbacks are being restricted to set times of the day for the service, and it must take place in a venue that is licenced for civil ceremonies.
A humanist celebrant can marry you pretty much anywhere, at any time of the day or evening. The service can be as personal as you like or if you’re not the romantic type they can also make it short and sweet. You can personalise it as you wish and do something symbolic such as hand fasting or even knocking back a shot to celebrate!
Ask yourself a few questions - How do you want your ceremony to feel? If you want a very intimate ceremony where you include family and friends then maybe a celebrant ceremony is for you. If you are into a short and sweet ceremony with very few to no frills then maybe go for the registrar option. Some registrars now offer much more for your ceremony too. Why not phone around some offices and ask what their ceremony layout is?
Comments
“All our guests loved our ceremony as did we”
“Worth every single penny!”
“In my personal opinion, a humanist is worth the money”
“The ceremony is so intimate and personal”