True to You celebrnacy
- Feb 5, 2021
- 6 min read

Amazing Celebrant Led Weddings at Lake Henry with Alexander Events

Welcome to Alexander Events and award winning

True to You Celebrancy celebrant led wedding ceremonies.

If you are reading this then congratulations and good wishes for your upcoming wedding ceremony are probably in order. As part of your exciting wedding planning journey, you have booked or are considering the majestic, fixed Tipi’s at Lake Henry with Alexander events.

As a Yorkshire celebrant I cannot shout loudly enough about this amazing venue. I have experienced first hand the warmth, the dedication, the integrity, and the sense of cohesiveness which defines the team at Alexander events. All of this makes for the dream team to compliment your dream venue.

Let us start by thinking about ceremony.

Ceremony is the universal celebration of an important transition or event. Ceremony is what we do across the world in the context of our local religion, culture, and beliefs. It is used across the life cycle to celebrate rites of passage including births, deaths, coming of age, and marriage. Accompanying these rites of passage, we often see a legal process to validate that event. For example, in the UK we are required to legally register births, deaths and marriages. These are important and meaningful processes in their own right.

Births. We legally register the birth of a child at our local council offices. If desired, we then have a christening or naming ceremony that is in accordance with our personal belief and values.

Deaths. We legally register a death. We then hold a funeral ceremony in accordance with our personal values and beliefs.

Marriage. Because of the way that legal marriages evolved in England and the UK over hundreds of years, we have become accustomed to registering our legal paperwork at the same time as celebrating the marriage with a wedding ceremony. They are distinctly separate events. You have the choice to do them at the same time, on the same day, or to do them separately.

Ceremony is not legally binding therefore there is no such thing as ‘fake ceremony’. Ceremony is an important and personal celebration. It is your right to have the ceremony of your choosing.

- Why would a couple choose to use a celebrant led wedding ceremony for their wedding at lake Henry, and what are the advantages of doing so?

Quite simply, a celebrant led wedding gifts you back your wedding ceremony.

Increasingly couples are choosing to take control over their wedding day. They are looking for something different, something that gives them the freedom to celebrate their wedding ceremony and their marriage in the way that they want to celebrate it, and where they choose to celebrate it. They want to own it and not be constrained by the more traditional ceremonies such as church weddings, registry offices and council led registrar weddings.

Now don’t get me wrong. A celebrant is all about promoting choice so, if a wedding ceremony within a religious setting officiated by a religious leader sanctioned to complete the legal paperwork or licensed premises with a council registrar is what you want, then it is important that you make that choice or you will not have the day that you wish for. As celebrants we see so many excited couples looking for that something special, something creative, something that truly narrates the story of their love, their journey, who they are and their mutual values, hopes and aspirations as they join together and begin their journey into married life. You are more than a template. Your story is not the same as that of the couple married 45 minutes before you, and 45 minutes after you.

Having the opportunity to co-author the content of your wedding ceremony itself, the vows, the promises, and all of the important things that you wish share with those important to you during the ceremony is what having a celebrant is all about.

Another very popular reason for choosing a celebrant is that it allows a couple total freedom over the venue for the wedding ceremony. As it stands, the law in England limits the legal registration of a wedding to a very limited number of venues. These have to be licenced in order to register the wedding. Many hotels, stately homes, barns etc have this arrangement and they are truly amazing. You can still choose to have your celebrant led wedding ceremony at one of these beautiful venues. Remember. It’s all about choice – your choice and the freedom to have that.

Now let’s imagine that you love the outdoors and the outstanding beauty of the North Yorkshire countryside. You want the perfect blend of outdoors and indoors, maybe you just adore the majesty, the space, the magical atmosphere of Lake Henry’s majestic TiPi’s and you fall in love with the idea of having your whole ceremony in one place so that guests are not travelling between locations for the ceremony itself and the wedding reception. Maybe you would like to say your vows on the lake or under the canopy of one of the beautiful tree’s? Maybe you would like a ceremony at sunset? Have you seen the evening pictures at Lake Henry! This is not possible with registrar led ceremonies as they have to adhere to strict time slots and it is not permitted to hold a legal ceremony after a certain time of day! The possibilities are endless at Lake Henry.

Have you seen the virtual tour of this truly outstanding venue? Click on the link below for your virtual tour snap shot.

Alexander Events at Lake Henry

- Would a legal marriage registration still need to be undergone?

Yes. We are not able to do the paperwork in order to legally register the marriage. Registering your wedding and completing the paperwork is a very quick and simple process. Council offices offer a ‘simple ceremony’, or a ‘two plus two’ appointment to do your legal registering. It is a brief 10 minute pre-booked appointment at your local registry office costing in the region of £57.00. You must give your notices in the same way as you would for any marriage.

Once you have done the above in front of two witnesses of your choice, you make your legally binding declarations, so “I know not of any legal impediment….”, and your legally binding contracting statements “I take you to be my lawfully wedded….” . You sign the legal register of marriages and Bob’s your Uncle, all done.

You do not exchange rings or wedding vows at this appointment as these are both beautiful, meaningful traditional symbolic acts and are not legally binding (though some councils may still allow this within a simple ceremony). We do the rings and personalised wedding vows within your wedding ceremony (if you wish to of course) – and just look how beautiful this is at Lake Henry!

Most couples have their legal registration a day or so before their formal wedding ceremony, but under the current circumstances and in the context of the pandemic, many couples are doing this earlier and postponing their wedding ceremony. They choose to celebrate this important occasion with a lovely drink or meal with their two witnesses. The rest is the formal ceremonial celebration of your marriage and is absolutely your gift to design with your celebrant.

- Are there different styles of ceremony that can be carried out by a celebrant and where can these take place?

Yes. The possibilities are endless. You are more than a template. I tell all my couples that anything goes – assuming of course that it is legal and safe! Why not add a unique symbolic ceremonial ritual, one that truly represents you as a couple? Sand ceremonies and candle lighting ceremonies are very popular and, if you choose, can allow you to involve other key people in the wedding party. Some of the older rituals have had a real renaissance. Handfasting and jumping the broom for example. You could think right out of the box and have an alcohol themed wedding incorporating a Gin, wine or whisky blending ceremony for example! Don’t make the measures too large though. Most celebrants would struggle to carry you both back down the aisle!! There are more details about symbolic rituals on my website.

And after your celebrant led ceremony, all that is left for you to do is........

And if we haven’t sold you yet……….

Celebrant led wedding ceremonies are becoming increasingly popular. Don’t just take our word for it. One of the most respected and biggest national wedding industry awards have a stand-alone category for wedding celebrants (you may spot a familiar name early on!)

The Wedding Industry Awards 2021

Excitingly, celebrant led wedding ceremonies should become legally binding after the current review of our archaic marriage laws. Watch this space…..

Credits and supplier colleagues (the dream team)

Photographs: DJB photography Damian Bramley

Planning & Coordination: Orchestrate Events Nina Copely

Models: Jennifer Foxton & Elliot Foxton

Stylist: Farm Styling

Bridal Dress: Victoria Robson Bridal

Grooms suits: Bakers Tailoring and Haworth Menswear

Blossom Tree Décor and Light up Letters: Blossom Tree Hire co.

Florist Bridal Flowers: Yvonne Dennis

Cake & Biscuit Favours: Emily Addison Flamingo Bakery