@www.baileyphoto.co.uk
Suffolk & London Weddings
Let’s create a stylish & original ceremony!
You have both said ‘Yes! Let’s do this thing!’
But what do you want from this special day?
A beautiful bespoke, modern and fun wedding, of course!
A stylish and original ceremony with individual touches that reflects exactly who we are.
We want to take our time to really enjoy the precious moments when we vow to be together through thick and thin.
We want everyone to have the chance to enjoy our love story and how we arrived here today!
You need a humanist style Celebrant!
Of course you do!
At your Celebrant led wedding I can promise a 100% tailor-made, individual and beautiful ceremony! We will combine our ideas and I will help you to find readings, poetry, simple, elegant rituals, and to create personal bespoke vows. I will craft your love story into an amazing and enjoyable treat, with loads of fun and laughs, and the odd teary moments. Your Celebrant led wedding ceremony will be as individual and special as you are! Both of you! (and the dog, probably!)
How do you find me?
I am a sought-after Wedding Celebrant based in South London; home to an amazing amount of beautiful city- based luxury houses, restaurants and parks as well as some quirky and unusual locations and loads of great pub wedding venues. The only problem is the amount of choice! As a humanist style wedding Celebrant I also work from a base in Suffolk; you can find me from Norwich to Newmarket, Southwold to Stowmarket, and anywhere in between who has an electric car charging unit! We have barns, country parks, rural hotels and swanky manor houses – and… the sea! Get the compass out and let’s go!
Together we can perform minor or even major miracles; I will happily dust off my magic shoes!
How we craft the service for your Big Day
First of all we have an initial chat – we can arrange a time that is easy for the both of you to find out if we are a good “fit.” I’m happy to meet in person or via Zoom, if that’s easiest. I’ll then send you a contract, along with my Ts & Cs.
When you have found your venue, I would love an opportunity to spend time there with you and find out your vision for the day –We’ll then start working on the ceremony together. We’ll meet a few times to really nail down the details. We’ll talk about music, readings, who you want to be involved etc. We’ll also start to think about your vows and promises and how you see those happening.
We’ll meet a couple of times more and talk about your hopes, dreams, love story. After that I go away and start to write your bespoke and beautiful wedding script. We’ll reach final decisions about all of the details we have discussed, and I will incorporate them into the wedding ceremony.
When the script is written you can choose whether I read it to you, or whether you would like to hear it for the first time on your Big Day, along with all of your friends and family.
Fast forward to the day - I will be there at least an hour before kick-off – to ensure each of you are fine; to quell nerves; to speak to Best Men/Women/People; to talk through readings that are to happen; to talk to your photographer and videographer to ensure I can help them to get the best shots possible. If we need amplification, I will bring my own amp and microphone.
All that will be left to do is to share a small glass of something bubbly with the two of you once you have had time to catch your breath!
Thank you!
https://www.leeallisonphotography.co.uk
https://www.baileyphoto.co.uk
https://www.leeallisonphotography.co.uk
https://www.baileyphoto.co.uk
How much does my bespoke service cost, and what does it include?
Our first meeting is a no-obligation chat – it costs nothing, just some of your time.
When you decide to book me, you will complete a booking form which will save the date you request – there is a booking fee of £250 due within 14 days of returning the booking form (£100.00 is not refundable, £150.00 is refundable up to six months before the wedding date or until the final script is written, at that time it is no longer refundable). Then the final balance is due a month before the wedding. There are no hidden extras.
The total fee for creating your wedding ceremony is £749.00 for 2024/25 and £800.00 for 2026.
Travel is charged at 45p per mile from a 5 mile radius of Lewisham in London; or over 20 miles radius from IP19 in Suffolk, whichever is closer to you.
Is a Celebrant led wedding legal?
No!
Celebrants are not allowed to conduct legally binding marriages in England and Wales at the moment (although, watch this space!)
You will need to book an appointment at the Registry Office to be legally married or civil partnered.
You will complete a Statutory Declaration and then have the basic service to complete the legal requirements – this is often known as a “2 + 2” – in an office with 2 registrars and 2 witnesses. There is a standard cost and extra if you want a commemorative copy of the marriage certificate. You don’t have to exchange rings in front of the Registrar.
It’s just like registering a birth; you don’t expect to have the christening or baby naming on the same day as the birth is registered. So the legal bit of your marriage can happen any time before or after your beautiful Celebrant led unique ceremony.
So, what is a “Celebrant Registrar” that the Local Authority offer?
You will find that some Register Offices do offer their own “Celebrant Registrars” nowadays, but they are bound by strict codes and rules and do not have the time to conduct bespoke and unique ceremonies, even if that is what you are led to believe.
You will not be guaranteed the person that you have spoken to about your ceremony will be there in front of you on the day. They can’t take the time to get to know you as a couple; you will have one short meeting and very little choice about content.
You will often find that they have a number of ceremonies to conduct in a single day, so their time is very limited, and if either of you are more than ten minutes late, they have the right to leave and you will not be legally married (so you’ll have to book another date to have the “2+2” as well as having your beautiful wedding day being ruined!)
The ceremony will be shorter; you will not be allowed to include certain things like any spiritual or religious elements, and any readings or music will have to be pre-approved.
They can only conduct a ceremony at a licenced venue – so if you wanted your ceremony in Granny’s garden because she is frail, or around your canal boat, or in fields, woodlands or a beach you love, they wouldn’t be allowed to do that for you if the space wasn’t attached to a licenced venue.
On the other hand, an Independent Celebrant is there for YOU BOTH, and only you two!
I will have got to know both of you -
I will understand what you want -
I will work with you to create a beautiful and utterly unique ceremony –
I will help with finding the ideal readings, and will help you to create the bespoke and personal vows you wish to say to one another –
I will support you both from the very first meeting until we share a glass of bubbly and listen to the whoops and cheers from your wonderful guests!