If you are wondering how to become a celebrant in the UK, one of the first questions you’re likely to be asking yourself is  - How much do wedding celebrants earn?

The profitability of celebrancy is an important factor if you are considering transitioning from a full-time paid position to a self-employed role as a celebrant. You need to pay the bills, after all.

In this article, we are going to answer your question. Not only can we tell you more about a wedding celebrant salary, but give you guidance on celebrant training costs and where to look for the best celebrant training UK. 

First, let’s explore what celebrancy entails (and what it doesn’t!). If you are thinking about whether or not celebrancy is for you - TAKE OUR QUIZ!

What Does a Wedding Celebrant do?

A wedding celebrant is someone who is professionally trained to conduct wedding ceremonies. Wedding celebrants are not ministers or any other form of religious authority, and currently do not have the legal right to marry a couple in law. That is the job of a registrar. The marrying couple will need to visit the Register to carry out the legal paperwork prior to their Celebrant-led personalised wedding. Celebrants do, however, play a very important role in overseeing and guiding a ceremony - making it personal, special and memorable for the couples getting married.

How to Become a Wedding Celebrant In The UK

Before thinking about the average earnings of a celebrant, it is important to take the costs of training (and other upfront costs) into consideration. Remember, whatever you spend on your business could give you the credentials and expertise to reap back that money (and more) in the near future. But… this is only the case if you work hard at your business and invest time, thought and care into your business approach. We believe that it’s therefore important to start off on the right foot - a professional celebrant training course. If you are currently struggling for money and are looking for a way to quickly fix your finances by becoming a Celebrant, then this is the wrong path for you. We would not want to  push you further into debt. Before investigating the best celebrant training UK, please make sure you have the capital to invest into your business. 

In the video, you meet Julie, who explains more about how much a wedding celebrant earns and how to become one.

Now for the fun part. There are a number of celebrant training courses available across the country, including us - The International College Of Professional Celebrants. For full transparency, here are our costs.

A five-day residential celebrant training course with the ICPC costs just over £2,700, which includes the five day course at a stunning Yorkshire Dales accommodation, all meals and refreshments,  training materials, 12 months ICPC membership and 12 months free Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance. Completion of the training course also leads to your accredited NOCN qualification which includes video lectures, study notes and a personal tutor. The one price includes all of this and there are no hidden extras.

For those looking for an online course, at ICPC we offer a five-day online course for just over £2,000  which includes everything that a residential course includes apart from the accommodation and food. For those whose personal circumstances mean that they are unable to take part in a residential course, this will be ideal.. 

Please note, if you are applying for wedding celebrant training government funding, we cannot accept this on our courses. For those who are in receipt of Universal Credits you may ask in your appointments if there are any retraining grants that might be used to train with us.

And here are some other costs for you to consider… Most qualified celebrants choose to invest in a website, marketing materials and the creation of personalised business branding or a logo. This is a worthwhile investment. Almost 80% of business owners with a business website expect to grow around 25% in the next three to five years, compared to 64% of those without a site. The more you put in, the more you get out! But, this does mean paying some upfront costs unless you yourself happen to be an internet wizard. 

So, we won’t sugar coat it - becoming a celebrant does require you to part with some money. But with hard work and motivation, as well as the support of ICPC, you can soon push your business into profit. If you are still unsure about whether or not this is for you, TAKE OUR QUIZ. 

Wedding Celebrant Salary UK

It’s a legitimate question to ask yourself ‘How much do wedding celebrants earn?”. After all, you have a house to run, a family to feed and a future to think about. 

Unfortunately, this is one of those questions with no definitive  answer. However we have put together some examples which might help you.

In the UK, a celebrant might charge between £650 and £1000 per ceremony. The amount charged is likely to be a reflection on the amount of experience the celebrant has, the service they offer, and how reputable and established they are. A celebrant who is known to offer a wonderful, unique wedding service will likely be in demand and therefore able to charge higher rates.

If you charge £650 per wedding ceremony, and have a wedding booked for every weekend of the year, your annual salary will be around £33,800. The amount earned, and the number of bookings you have, will give you your annual income. If you charge £800 per wedding ceremony and book up each weekend, you’ll earn £41,600.

Of course, these numbers are dependent on regular bookings. Without those, your earnings plummet. 

We can help you with this. We teach celebrants how to find bookings and repeat business, so that you can have a nice full calendar and a healthy bank balance.  

Final Thoughts

Becoming a wedding celebrant can be a fulfilling career with the potential to earn a good salary. It is vital to build experience by officiating ceremonies, alongside developing your reputation so that potential clients find and book you for their celebrations. Take our quiz to find out more about the traits and attributes needed for celebrancy. 

To find out more about qualifying as a celebrant with the International College of Professional Celebrants, email us today at [email protected] or call 033 33 404 434.