Frequently asked questions

How can I check if you are available on my wedding date?

The Fuze Ceremonies website has an easy availability checker (also linked at the top of this page). Just select the service type, date and region, then scroll until you find my smiling picture! If I don’t show up, it’s because I’m not available but you can still contact me as I may be able to help.

What areas do you cover?

I cover Edinburgh and the Lothians. I can be persuaded to travel to the Borders, Fife and the Central Belt though!

Can we meet before we commit to booking?

Absolutely! In fact I encourage you to meet with me and a few other celebrants to make sure that you find someone that you feel will tell your story the best. We can organise an introductory video call at a time that suits you. I work days, evenings and weekends so we can find a time that suits us both.

How do I book you?

Booking is easy! Simply visit my booking page on the Fuze Ceremonies website.

Where do you start when it comes to your ceremony preparations?

When it comes to thinking about your ceremony, I advise that couples dig deep and have a really good think about what is important to you. Is an intimate ceremony surrounded by close family and friends and packed with sentiment and romance, the dream? Or would a huge celebration filled with laughter be more suited to your personality?  

What do you need to have in place for your ceremony?

Like photographers and venues, Celebrant diaries fill up incredibly quickly, particularly over the spring/summer weekends. Couples are not required to have anything in place prior to booking me, just a date and a ceremony location. Once the finer details have been decided, the couple can then meet up with me (virtually or in person) to discuss the ceremony.

How much does it cost to hire a celebrant? Are there any hidden costs?

A Fuze Celebrant for a legal wedding will cost £525 and there are no hidden costs. The £525 will cover couples meeting(s), ceremony planning and advice, writing of the script and conducting the ceremony on the day.

Once a couple have chosen their Celebrant, they can simply hit the ‘book now’ icon on the Fuze website and pay a deposit to secure their Celebrant and date, with the remainder of the balance paid twelve weeks before the date of the wedding.

The only further cost the couple will incur is the fee to the Registrar for processing their Marriage Certificate, which costs £100 to £120.

If your venue is over 50 miles from Balerno, then we would have to agree a reasonable mileage payment to cover any fuel costs. This will be invoiced by me 2 weeks before the ceremony.

When do you need us to meet?

I will send you an email as soon as I receive your booking with a questionnaire to be competed along with some guidance on what you will need to consider. I will then get in touch between 4 to 6 months before your wedding date to check in and arrange a meeting to start discussing your ceremony. I am to meet all couples around 3 months before the wedding date but a ceremony can be written on a shorter timescale if needed.

Where will we meet?

Ideally I like to meet couples in person if you are local to Edinburgh and the Lothians. It’s great if we can meet at the venue but if that isn’t possible, a café or pub will do!  I am available to meet weekdays/evenings and weekends and will co-ordinate with your diary. I know it’s not always possible to meet in person so we can just as easily plan a ceremony using virtual meetings.

I don’t normally need more than one meeting but we can meet again before the ceremony if needed.

How do you compose the ceremony?

I will get everything I need from the completed questionnaire and our meetings. I use all the information to craft a unique ceremony script that suits you.  

I will produce a first draft for you to review, ideally around 2 months before the ceremony. Adjustments to the draft are made over email or the phone. Ideally we will have a final draft of the ceremony a month before your wedding.

I prefer not to make any changes 2 weeks before the wedding. This is to allow me to practice it so I can give a polished and professional performance and to allow you to concentrate on all those last minute things, like catering numbers and fielding questions from your guests.

What is a Marriage Notice form?

You must, by law, submit marriage notice forms with the associated documents and pay the statutory fee to the registrar in whose district you intend to be married. These marriage notice forms (M10s) or Civil Partnership Forms (CP10s) must be submitted 12 weeks before the wedding date but no later than 29 days before to the Registrar that is local to your venue. The NRS website has all the guidance you need.

The link below will take you to the relevant pages on the National Records for Scotland’s website so that you can download and access your marriage notice forms (M10s) as well as the additional witness details form.

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/registration/i-want-to-get-married-in-scotland-how-do-i-go-about-it

What’s a marriage schedule? Why is it needed? How is it created?

The Marriage Schedule, what used to be called ‘signing the register,’ is the form that the  couple, their witnesses and their Celebrant will fill in on their wedding day.

Do we need to collect our marriage schedule or does the celebrant do this? If we do need to collect it, where from? Who can collect it?

The COUPLE must collect their Marriage Schedule in person from the Registrar local to their wedding venue seven days before the big day. Details of how to collect will be given by the Registrar.

Who keeps hold of the marriage schedule during the service?

The Marriage Schedule is a legal document and must be handed to the Celebrant before the wedding ceremony. I will check all the information is correct. It must be with me before I start the ceremony in order for me to be in position to ‘solemnise’ the marriage and ensure this legal document is signed.

At what point in the ceremony do we sign the marriage schedule and is there anything you need to know about this?

The Marriage Schedule is signed after the legal vows have been taken. I, as the Celebrant will  typically ask you both to ‘repeat after me’ and read out the legal vows. The Schedule will be signed by the couple, your two witnesses and me, as the Celebrant.

When does the marriage schedule need to be returned and by whom? Can someone  return it on our behalf?

The Marriage Schedule must be returned to the Registrar local to the wedding venue within three days of the ceremony and can be returned by anyone.

How do we go about choosing our witnesses? Why do we need witnesses?

In Scotland, legally binding agreements need to have 2 witnesses and marriages are no  different. Your witnesses can be anyone over the age of 16 on the day of the ceremony and capable of understanding what is going on. They can be people you don’t know; they just need to witness that what they have seen and heard is a true account.

Is there anything legal we need to say when it comes to our vows? And is there anything you legally need to include as part of your service?

The only legality to be included within the wedding ceremony is that of the legal vows. There is a very strict form of words for the legal vows, but this may vary slightly from organisation to organisation. Aside from the legal vows, the ceremony can go in any direction the couple chooses. In addition to the legal vows, many couples opt to read their own personal vows, which can be anything at all.

Is there anything else legally that couples tend to forget about?

At its simplest, all that is needed is (a) the couple (b) 2 witnesses (c) a legally authorised  Celebrant and (d) Marriage Schedule. Without these, a legal marriage can’t take place. The couple must also be married in the place that is named in the Marriage Schedule. This is something that may be overlooked by couples planning an outdoor wedding. So best to have a plan A and plan B (if the weather is poor). But remember, that plan B cannot include moving the ceremony a significant distance away to another location.

How long will our wedding ceremony be? 

Your marriage ceremony typically lasts 30 minutes, this includes your legal vows as well as a welcome to all your guests, music, readings, personal vows, exchange of rings, signing of the marriage register, any symbolic gestures you may wish to include and closing words.  

The more elements that you include, the longer it will be but your ceremony can be as long or as short as you'd like it to be.