The History of Civil Celebrancy

When I tell people I’m an independent civil celebrant, most folk usually look a bit bemused and say something like “Oh, I’ve heard of them” or “But you can’t actually marry a couple can you?” or “Don’t you need to be an atheist to be a celebrant?”

Whilst civil celebrancy as we now know it has been on offer for over 50 years, I am finding it is still a relatively new concept to many, so if you’re curious to understand the history of it’s development, this blog post will be of interest to you.

Within the UK it’s important to note that all marriages up to C18th had to take place before an ordained clergyman of the Church of England. So, in effect, the Church had exclusive control over marriages and in reality, this had some adverse consequences. It  encouraged the practice of secret marriages which didn’t have parental consent, which were often bigamous, and involved underage girls. Far from ideal.

So, when The Marriage Act 1836 was passed, it was seen as a landmark legislation that transformed marriage practices in England and Wales, promoting civil rights and inclusivity in marriage ceremonies. It marked a significant step away from the Church’s control and allowed for a more diverse range of marriage practices to be legally recognized. It allowed non-conformists and Catholics to be married in their own places of worship. It was also made possible for non-religious civil marriages to be held in register offices which were set up in towns and cities across England, and which still play a vital role today.

It was almost 150 years later, that the Civil Celebrancy Movement developed in Australia in 1973 by Attorney General Lionel Murphy, who had a very clear ideal that secular people were entitled to ceremonies of equal meaning, dignity and substance as those enjoyed by religious people. His, at that time, radical assertion, a now obvious truth but still not fully absorbed in legislation, was that celebrating the milestones of life was just as important for secular people as it was for religious people. For the first time couples were allowed to create their own bespoke ceremony and choose their music, write their own vows, poems, words, venue, style and much more.

This was the turning point which speared civil celebrancy to evolve in the UK.

The British Humanist Association ( BHA) visited Australia at that time, and brought back to the UK the values that Murphy sought to promote, being equality of dignity for those who were not religious or for those who had been married before and had been subsequently denied a ceremony. The BHA then invited one of the first appointed Australian celebrants Dally Messenger III to meet with a small group of celebrants from the UK, and a lady called Carol Poole became a key influencer, and the civil celebrancy movement took shape. The movement can be accredited for influencing changes in legislation for same sex couples, who throughout history faced legal and societal barriers to marriage. It also played a crucial role in advocating for equality and ensuring the recognition and acceptance of diverse forms of love and relationships.

These changes took time to come but many years later came The Civil Partnership Act 2004, which granted civil partnerships to same-sex couples in the United Kingdom with rights and responsibilities identical to civil marriage. And ten years after that came The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 which introduced civil marriage for same-sex couples in England and Wales.

With the decline of religious beliefs, and with Millienials and Gen Z questioning the values of some of the traditional marriage vows and traditions, this is an important offering giving people freedom and choice in how they celebrate and mark key milestones in life.

The traditional vows of “to have and to hold” and the tradition of asking the father of the bride for his daughter’s hand in marriage, may seem antiquated now and demeaning as if women are seen as a chattel and less than. The option to have a wedding ceremony anywhere from your back garden to your favourite pub, means freedom of choice, and twenty years ago the idea of going overseas to get married would have been seen as risqué, but now is far more common place.

The role of the celebrant has now expanded beyond weddings to funerals, so a similar change has occurred in the funeral industry too, when the BHA started to offer non religious funerals on the 1980’s. Historically it had always been the preserve of clergy to conduct funerals, but there was scope to bury the deceased outside of consecrated ground, and evidence of this exists in C19th literature.

It’s important to note that whilst the funeral industry is heavily regulated, the role today of the civil celebrant is still not defined in law, and civil celebrants do not have the right to legally marry a couple in England & Wales. Despite the Law Commission’s review of Marriage law published in 2022, sadly the delays in the reform process continue and there appears to be little momentum, no clear timeline and no decisive action being taken. Momentum for change is building, but disappointingly at a very uncertain pace, and who knows when it will reach the top of the agenda within the government. When it does, I’ll be ready and waiting to do what’s needed to ensure I can become legally recognised.

Today, civil celebrants in the UK conduct a wide range of ceremonies, including weddings, naming ceremonies, and funerals, and many other life events you may never have considered.  Feel free to read my next blog post on this and prepare to be surprised!

We play a vital role catering to the diverse needs of individuals who may not endorse traditional religious practices. The growth of my work reflects broader societal changes towards inclusivity and the desire to ensure life celebrations are bespoke and personalised, thus allowing people to honour their unique beliefs and values in much more meaningful ways than has been allowed historically.

So today as an independent celebrant, I can perform your wedding, funeral or naming ceremony in a unique and personalised way.

My work involves story telling, writing personalised scripts and conducting the celebration to ensure your ceremony goes exactly the way you want it to.

As a celebrant I am not restricted or legally bound so my script can include religious elements if you want it to, symbolic rituals, heartfelt moments, references to pop culture and meaningful stories about your love and life.

Would you really be happy with a registrar who may repeat the same script at each ceremony they host, who don’t include religious elements you may want and only give you two or three options for vows?

What are you waiting for?

Let’s create your unique ceremony today -get in touch and let’s have a chat