Registrar or Celebrant wedding: what’s the difference?
14 September 2026
This is one of those wedding questions where everyone thinks they know the answer until you ask them to explain.
Briefly: a registrar takes care of the legal marriage. A celebrant creates and leads the ceremony you actually want.
In England and Wales, an independent celebrant generally cannot legally marry you. You’ll still need to complete the legal part with a registrar.
Can we have a registrar and celebrant at the same wedding?
Yes. If you’re marrying at a venue licensed for legal marriages, you can arrange for registrars to attend and complete the legal part while also having a celebrant involved in the wider ceremony. The registrar will remain responsible for the legal marriage and what can be included during that part, so the exact arrangements need to be agreed with your local registration service.
Alternatively, many couples complete the legal formalities separately at a register office and leave their celebrant-led ceremony completely free to be designed around them. That legal ceremony can be kept very simple. Your celebrant-led wedding can then be the big one: the venue, guests, entrance, vows, rings, music, readings, laughter, tears and the Best Man being told firmly that this is not the moment for his story from Magaluf.
The big difference is freedom.
A celebrant ceremony isn’t restricted to the wording and structure of a statutory marriage ceremony. You can write your own vows, involve children or friends, include symbolic rituals, mix traditions or create something completely new.
You also have much more freedom over where the ceremony happens. A garden, woodland, beach, theatre, family home or somewhere that means something to you can all become part of the story.
And your ceremony doesn’t have to resemble anybody else’s.
For LGBTQ+ couples, blended families, second marriages and anyone whose life doesn’t fit neatly into the traditional wedding template, that freedom can be particularly valuable.
There is one important distinction worth remembering:
The registrar makes you legally married.
The celebrant makes the ceremony yours.
And plenty of couples choose to have both.
I create personal and inclusive wedding ceremonies across Essex and beyond. Find out more.