Why Choose a Wedding Celebrant in Sheffield? 12 Reasons From Real Couples

I could talk ‘til I’m blue in the face about how great personalised wedding ceremonies are (I mean… that’s kind of what my blog is for), but sometimes you have to hear it from other people to really feel it.

That’s why I’ve handed the reins of this blog post over to 12 of the brilliant couples I’ve had the pleasure of working with as their wedding celebrant in Sheffield, to tell you why it was important to them.

Each reason is something a couple said to me in real life, that reflected why they chose a personal wedding ceremony over a more standard one. If you read them and think, “OH MY GOSH, this is us” – then my darlings we should chat!

Reasons couples choose a wedding celebrant

Often it can feel like there are two ways to have a wedding ceremony: either a meaningful religious ceremony OR a perfunctory civil one. But that’s not the case – there’s so much in between, which is exactly where a wedding celebrant like me comes in.

A celebrant wedding can be chock-full of meaning without any religious connotations (though it’s important to say that humanism isn’t anti-religion, and any religious guests you have will feel very safe in attendance). Whether it’s via symbolism, ritual, or simply the words we use, we’ll work together to create a personal wedding ceremony that focuses on your connection to each other and the people you’re celebrating with.

Your wedding celebrant is tasked with a really precious thing, the declaration of your love, so it’s entirely reasonable that you’d want to get to know them. Plus, they’ll not only be there on your wedding day (it’s kind of a key part of the job, really), but you’ll also work closely with them in the run-up to the wedding – so you want to enjoy their company!

It might sound silly, but this is why I always tell couples to hire a wedding celebrant that you enjoy getting to know, and actually want to be there on your wedding day. This kind of flexibility isn’t always available for other forms of ceremony (for example, with registrar weddings, you usually don’t know who from the council will turn up until the day itself.)

People after my own heart! Creating a personal wedding ceremony is truly a wonderful experience, and though I’m obviously biassed considering I’m a Sheffield wedding celebrant, I do think a celebrant wedding is the perfect way to make it happen. You get full input and ultimate control over what your wedding ceremony looks, sounds, and feels like; with a celebrant to support, steer, inspire, recommend, handhold, or offer a big fat permission slip whenever you need it.

It’s true. Celebrant weddings are a perfect solution to this, whether you’re looking to get married on a summer evening, a bank holiday, or even New Year’s Eve. Because there’s no restrictions on location and no legalities to worry about, you can have your wedding ceremony whenever it works for you.

There’s loads of reasons why you might want to get married at a particular location. Perhaps it's because it holds significance for you, because of the memories you’ve made there, because of its stunning beauty, or because it just has the right vibe for the party you want to throw. Not having a license is no problem for celebrant weddings, because we don’t need one!

For instance the Lantern Theatre doesn't have a license for weddings but is one of my favourite wedding venues. It's also the setting of my own Humanist wedding before I became a Sheffield wedding celebrant! (If you’re looking for more venue inspiration, I’ve collated my favourite Sheffield wedding venues into a nifty blog post for you).

Your wedding day is about celebrating the fact that you’ve found your person, the one who loves you in your entirety. So it’s only natural that you’d want your wedding ceremony to reflect that. With me as your Sheffield wedding celebrant, there’s absolutely no template; we build your ceremony together, from scratch, every time.

Meg Senior Ceremonies = Anti-cookie cutter, very pro-cookies.

If you’ve been to a celebrant wedding, you know just how incredible they can be: a ceremony that you wanted to never end, as opposed to one you wanted to be over as quickly as possible. Such is the power of a personal wedding ceremony created bespoke for you.

And if you haven’t ever been to a celebrant wedding before, why not be the trendsetter and give your guests the gift of this knowledge?! They’ll thank you for it when they’re planning their wedding... On the other hand they might curse you if they’re already married and didn’t know it was an option, but they could always plan a vow renewal.

Remember way back on reason number 1, where we talked about not being religious, and I mentioned symbols and rituals? Handfasting is a great example of this, an ancient Celtic and pagan ritual that includes binding your hands together with fabric. It’s incredibly beautiful, powerful, and can create a great central point for a ceremony, but is too much of a deviation for most civil or religious ceremonies.

Of course, handfasting is just one example – there’s loads of ways you can incorporate ritual and symbolism into your personal wedding ceremony.

I get it, strict and serious venues can feel imposing and anxiety-inducing; you’re spending all your energy calming down your nerves instead of soaking up the joyous feeling of getting to marry your person. Then, before you know it, the day is over and all you remember is feeling nauseous.

With a celebrant-wedding (and me as your Sheffield wedding celebrant), you’re not limited to these formal buildings… or even buildings at all.

This one’s a no-brainer. Your identity can’t be defined by what a piece of paper says, so a personal wedding ceremony led by a celebrant doesn’t have to refer to it. Simple!

What a gorgeous idea! There’s so much we can do with kid-friendly wedding ceremony ideas, and including pets too (a common one is including dogs in your wedding ceremony, but whatever pet you have I'm here for you!).

We can even co-create the way your children are part of the ceremony, if you’d like them to be part of the planning process.

Standing in front of your dearly beloved is a small part of my job as a wedding celebrant. In fact, so much of what I do is behind the scenes and in the run-up. Having a friendly, trusted and experienced person to guide you through what can be an intimidating process makes all the difference. Your celebrant is someone who can answer questions, and give opinions, assistance and guidance when you ask.

No question is too stupid with me as your Sheffield wedding celebrant. I want to make sure you feel 100% supported, at every step of the way.

All the reasons you could possibly need to pick a wedding celebrant in Sheffield

Says who? The best people in Sheffield, if you ask me

I’m pretty sure that science backs me up when I say that all the people who contributed to this piece are the best people in Sheffield. If any of these reasons resonated with you and you want to join the #MarriedByMeg crew, I’m overjoyed.

Let’s chat about creating your personal wedding ceremony: what you do want, what you don’t want, and everything in between.

The images on this page were taken by (my fave) Becky Payne Photography. They are of the super creative and adventurous Nick and Naomi whose wedding day was in summer 2024.