Why I love celebrant-led weddings: a wedding photographer speaks.
I first met Claire McClean when she was photographing one of my weddings at The Hovels, Harewood House. Afterwards she came and complimented me on the ceremony, so of course I loved her from day one! As a wedding photographer, Claire sees a lot of wedding ceremonies, so her opinion on celebrant-led wedding ceremonies meant a lot to me.
Read on to find out why she loves photographing and attending celebrant weddings…
Wedding photographer Claire McClean, of Claire McClean Photography
My favourite things about celebrant-led weddings
Registrars are rarely available to talk to the photographer before the wedding as they have appointments before and after your wedding. Celebrants always have time for a chat before the ceremony, meaning your photographer can find out what the plan is and where they should stand, and even advise the celebrant on where to find the best light for key moments.
For me, a celebrant-led wedding means more time to take photos before the ceremony too - you needn’t do interviews beforehand like you do with a registrar. This frees up more time for getting ready, making you more relaxed and more photos from me!
Nikki and her bridal party before her Humanist celebrant-led wedding
Wedding celebrants mean greater freedom
When you work with a wedding celebrant, you get to choose who is conducting your ceremony. This affects the whole feel and mood of the wedding. By contrast, you can’t control who you get when you have a registrar ceremony. This is risky as sometimes you can get quite a strict one which can mean more restrictions…
… Some registrars don’t let us take a photo of the certificate or allow us to come to the front when you’re signing your marriage certificate. This means that we can’t get all the best angles and we miss the witnesses signing the certificate and so have to stage a separate photo. If you are doing a separate certificate for your humanist wedding this is great as we can photograph the candid moments of this without restrictions. Obviously we won’t get in your way but it’s nice to have some photos of this key moment! Celebrants are usually very good at letting us get close to the action, which means we can capture the ring exchange close up, plus your guests’ reactions to your first kiss - priceless moments to cherish.
Hand fasting ceremony at The Hovels, Harewood, West Yorkshire
‘Being able to capture this angle means I can capture wedding guests’ expressions - a moment to treasure.’
More to see, and a celebrant won’t block my view!
From my perspective, wedding ceremonies led by a celebrant have more variety, which is more interesting for me to watch and photograph. You won’t get the same old script as everyone else, and it shows in your guests’ reactions - and I love capturing their reactions! This can include tears, laughter - all the emotions! If you are doing a hand fasting or another alternative tradition this will make for some beautiful photos too that are different from the usual shots of ring exchanging.
I love how you have greater freedom with a wedding celebrant to choose the ceremony time. This affects your photographer in a positive way because sometimes you’ve booked a Saturday in November but the only time the registrar is available is 3pm. This is tricky as it’ll be pitch black and not the best time of day for couple photos and group shots after your ceremony. But if you have a celebrant you can have a ceremony before 1pm and get all the gorgeous natural light afterwards!
You get to have two weddings! You will have to get legally married too either before or after, meaning you can get two different days covered if you like. That means two wedding outfits… what’s not to love?!
Finally, I love working with wedding celebrants because they know to move out of the way for the first kiss - this results in better images!
All the feels!
The first kiss. The last thing you want is your registrar or vicar photo bombing you… a well-trained celebrant won’t do that!
Thanks to Claire McClean for sharing her perspective on why celebrant-led weddings are so good. For more photographs of Nikki + Jordan’s fabulous Humanist wedding ceremony at The Hovels, Harewood, and details of suppliers click here.
