‘Love and Marriage, Love and Marriage, go together like a horse and carriage’
These are the lyrics of a song made famous by Frank Sinatra in 1955 and for some reason, millions of us seem to know those lyrics and don’t really remember why or when we learnt them!
The next line of the song goes like this, ‘ Dad was told by mother, you can’t have one without the other!’
Well we all know now that many couples who are in love, choose not to marry and are perfectly content.
However, there were 239,020 marriages between opposite sex couples in 2015, 6,493 same sex couples tied the knot and a further 9,156 same sex couples converted their civil partnership into a marriage.
When a couple decide to marry there are lots of things to take into consideration ,as are there if they decide to have a Celebrant led wedding ceremony.
But what is the difference between a Marriage and a Wedding?
Well, a marriage is a legally recognised partnership between two people.
It really doesn’t have any requirements for those two people to actually be in love.
A Wedding Ceremony on the other hand is celebrating the love and commitment between two people and is all about love.
The two ceremonies will be very different and that reflects in the cost.
The average cost across the UK to legally marry at the Registrar’s Office is 50 pounds but could be more if held on a weekend. The Ceremony will last for about 10 to 15 minutes. Timing is very strict as there will often be another wedding taking place immediately afterwards.
Two witnesses, over the age of 16, will also need to be present.
The registrar will conduct the ceremony and hey presto, you will be legally married.
Then bring on the Wedding Ceremony.
A Wedding Ceremony can take place anywhere, anytime and is very personal to the bride and groom.
The ceremony is all about the couple’s story. How they met, the first date, the proposal and any funny little stories they would like to share with their family and friends on the big day.
As there aren’t any time restrictions with a Celebrant led ceremony, the couple could choose to involve family members, children, and friends.
There are so many different elements that can also be incorporated for example a Hand Fasting Ceremony, Unity Sand Ceremony, Unity candle Ceremony and many more.
All of this makes the couples ceremony very unique and special.
The couples guests could be asked to join in on a favourite song. The Bride and Groom may want to ask a friend to come forward and read a poem out.
The traditional elements can all still remain too. The exchanging of rings, signing a wedding certificate with as many witnesses as you like, and of course the vows. Couples can opt for the very traditional repeat after me vows or indeed, write their own.
So, there you have it!
Lots of differences between a Marriage and a Wedding.
Now it’s time to let your imagination run free and work alongside your Celebrant to make a truly special day to remember for you both and your guests.