It is becoming increasingly popular for couples to choose to exchange vows and make the pledge to each other with the help of a civil celebrant. Your wedding day is a day that you will treasure forever and it is uniquely your own. Understandably you’d want everything to go your own way and feel free to be able personalise every aspect of your day. A civil celebrant may offer you the flexibility you desire away from the church.

Here are some things to consider:

• The cost of being married by a civil celebrant is generally around the same price as being married by a church minister
• With Australia being such a multicultural society, cross cultural and interfaith marriages are on the rise. A civil celebrant is an unbiased way of tying the knot without any of the hassles of trying to accommodate for both traditions. On the flipside civil celebrants can often be more accommodating and are usually willing to incorporate religious passages and traditions from both cultures.
• Couples who do not have particularly strong religious ties often opt for celebrants as they do not feel they need the blessing of the church. They may also feel uncomfortable about being wed in a place of worship.
• A civil celebrant enables you to personalise your wedding by writing your own vows and even on some occasions planning what is said and what happens for the entire ceremony!
  
  
• Many people are looking outside of a religious place of worship to host their ceremony. In this case the flexibility of having a civil celebrant is obvious to couples who choose to get married in beaches, boats, private homes, gardens/parks or even the registry office.

When choosing a civil celebrant it is important to tell them what you want and be confident that they can deliver what you have in mind. As civil celebrants are more flexible in their approach it is even more important that you remain clear about what you want to happen on the day. From personalised vows to incorporating faiths a civil celebrant may be the alternative you have been looking for.