Choosing a wedding celebrant is about more than selecting someone to lead your ceremony and long before the first vows are spoken, a celebrant-led wedding ceremony begins with a conversation, as every wedding has a story.
Not just the story of the day itself, but the love story of the two people standing at the heart of it. One of the greatest joys of being a celebrant is helping couples tell that story in a way that feels true to them. From our first meeting to the final words of the ceremony, working together is a unique and rewarding experience—one that often becomes one of the most meaningful parts of the wedding journey.
But what’s it like to have a celebrant by your side on your wedding day?
If you’re considering a celebrant-led wedding in Gower, Swansea or South Wales and are wondering what the experience is really like, this blog will take you through the journey from a first meeting to the moment of saying “I do.” It’s a look behind the scenes at the preparation for Elaine and Chris’s wedding ceremony at Manorbier Castle in Pembrokeshire and a Q&A on what it’s like to work with me and how my process and our relationship helped make their special day even more memorable.
Why did you choose to have a humanist celebrant-led ceremony and how did you find The Gower Celebrant?
We had decided that we wanted to have a celebrant-led ceremony, because it was going to be more personal and about “us”. However, we did not know what form this would take or how it would look. So, we went to our first Wedding Fayre at Oxwich Bay Hotel, and there was Margaret. A lovely smiling face, and a really nice open and relaxed persona.
Margaret explained about Humanist ceremonies and all the things that could be included, to make the ceremony “ours”. It was clear then that Margaret was going to be part of our big day.
How easy was the planning process? Did The Gower Celebrant help make the ceremony feel personal to you as a couple?
From our perspective, the planning process was super easy. Starting with the initial chat in a garden centre, to the final read through that made me cry, Margaret guided us seamlessly through the process of crafting a beautiful ceremony. The amount of contact between us was just right. And so was her availability to assist us with questions along the way.
Margaret is a very good interviewer, bringing out our thoughts and learning about us as a couple and how our love story had developed. And she crafted the story and interwove it with the location at Manorbier Castle perfectly.
Was there anything about the process you found difficult or frustrating?
We would say we didn’t have any challenges with the process. Margaret made it straightforward and enjoyable. We looked forward to meeting up with Margaret at every stage. And we would not have done anything differently.
On your ceremony day, did the experience match your expectations? Did you feel the ceremony reflected your personalities and relationship?
Margaret surpassed our expectations. Following through with information on readings and laughing at the rudish one we thought to include too! She completely saw us and understood who we are and our relationship. Especially to answer the question “what is love”?
Did The Gower Celebrant deliver the kind of ceremony you had imagined? Were there any surprises — good or bad?
Apart from enjoying listening to Margaret tell our story, the ceremony did come with one surprise for each of us. This is because there was a part of the ceremony where we did not know what the other had said. Which made for a memorable emotional moment.
Margaret was so helpful on the wedding day. She and Debbie (amazing wedding coordinator at the Castle) helped to put nerves at ease, and corralling the guests where they needed to be. Even stepping in to read the reading when the original guest was not able to do it.
That’s Margaret; all round amazing person, nothing phased her and the ceremony went so well. She guided everyone through the ring warming and explained the history of hand fasting.
What feedback did you get from guests about your ceremony?
Feedback from our guests included, they “enjoyed the humour and the story” and that they “hadn’t been to a ceremony as individual as ours”. “It made a pleasant change to the normal weddings they’ve been to”, one guest said they really valued being included within the ceremony as we’d included a ring warming, where all the guests held and warmed our wedding rings before we exchanged them.
What are your final reflections on your wedding day?
Because we wanted a ceremony that was “just a bit of us” and individual, then working with a celebrant is the best decision we made in planning our wedding.
And the next best decision was choosing Margaret to be our celebrant. I cannot recommend The Gower Celebrant highly enough, and encourage any new couples-to-be to work with her to craft your love story into a beautiful memorable ceremony.
And should I be able to persuade my husband, we’ll be having Margaret for vow renewals too.
Photocredit: www.christinawilliams.co.uk
Venue: Manorbier Castle
