Celebrant believes Wexford could be the wedding capital of Ireland

Just a few decades ago, an Irish person choosing to get married outside of a church would be an uncommon occurrence. Today this is no longer the case, with celebrant-led weddings steadily on the rise…

To get married in Ireland, there are three options available. One of course is a church wedding. The second option is a civil ceremony in which a couple are married by a state registrar, usually at the registry office. The third and most recently available option is a celebrant-led wedding. These are weddings where the couple is married in a personalised wedding ceremony led by a celebrant. These can be conducted in a wide variety of venues, from castles to national parks.

Celebrants are professionals whose role it is to perform ceremonies such as weddings, funerals or vow renewals. Many celebrants are also solemnisers, which gives them the legal authority to solemnise marriages.

Rosemary Hartigan has been working in the celebrant community for several years, having become a solemniser in 2022. Since then, she has married happy couples in a myriad of locations all over Wexford. Her desire to become a celebrant began, ironically, at her own wedding.

“The law was introduced in 2004 that you could get married outside the registry office or the church. Those were the only two options open to people at the time. I was getting married in 2007 and we were holding out waiting for that 2004 Act to come in. In the end, we got married in the registry office in Enniscorthy.”

Rosemary and her husband married in June of 2007. In November of that year, the Civil Registration Act of 2004 came into effect, allowing solemnisers to conduct marriage ceremonies in a wider range of venues.

“Despite the fact that it was the registry office as well as the health clinic – we were going in in our lovely clothes and there was kids with runny noses and sore teeth – it was so lovely. I just thought that I’d love to do this.”

When asked about the prevalent rise of celebrant-led weddings, Rosemary offered the following insight:

“There’s two ways of looking at it. There’s some people who don’t go to Church anymore and then there’s people who want to get married in a Church but they can’t. The organisation I’m with is non-denominational. I’m still Catholic but that’s irrelevant – I’ve married people who were Church of Ireland, Muslim – all different religions and none. Some people can’t get married in the Church they want to because they’re divorced. Some people want a wedding that reflects what they’ve been brought up with. Some people want a wedding that reflects some element of religion but just don’t want to have it in a Church.”

For many engaged couples, the level of personalisation available in a celebrant-led wedding is an exciting draw.

“Readings vary. It could be St Paul to the Corinthians or it could be Bruce Springsteen lyrics. You never know until you get talking to people.”

As you can imagine, talking to people is an essential part of being a celebrant. Celebrants like Rosemary pride themselves on their ability to lead a ceremony that is not only beautiful but personal to the couple as well.

“I love people and I’m curious. I’m really curious about people. I get to ask questions you wouldn’t normally ask people. I try to leave them slightly open and then people might tell me something that will never be heard again.”

As most readers know first-hand, every wedding is different. For the officiant, this comes with its own challenges.

“You’re trying to manage unknown. Like, sometimes you might have small children at a wedding. It’s usually very funny and you can’t take yourself too seriously when you’re dealing with small children. I might say at the beginning ‘We’ve got small children here so we might need to take a break’”.

These days, couples are spoiled for choice with venue options. Engaged couples can marry in castles, country houses, art galleries and museums. There are however some caveats.

“You have to be careful about where exactly you’re getting married. By law, it has to be accessible to the public. So, you can’t get married up a mountain. You can get married any day of the week and at any time of the day, but for it to be a legal ceremony, it has to be in a place generally open to the public. With an address.”

Many of Rosemary’s clients are couples seeking destination weddings. Ireland is a very popular wedding destination because of its beautiful scenery and historic locations. It’s particularly popular with US citizens, many of whom have Irish roots and feel a special connection to the island.

“When I get American enquiries, I end up giving them an itinerary as well. A lot of them would have Irish heritage and it’s what they’ve always dreamed of. Some of them have no Irish heritage but they love Game of Thrones. I had a lovely female couple two years ago. I was going through the process with them and at the end they said, ‘The way America is going at the moment, we want an Irish marriage certificate because we’re worried in time gay marriage won’t be recognised’. They wanted to protect themselves.”

“That really made me stop and think about what we take for granted. There’s things like that where you think you’re talking about things really lovely and romantic and it’s all a bit light, and then you have two people who love each other who are saying ‘We need to protect ourselves because this country isn’t going the way we want it go’.”

With the huge success of the 2024 and 2025 Fleadh Cheoils, Wexford’s appeal as a tourist destination is at an all-time high. Rosemary believes Wexford has a huge amount to offer in the wedding department.

“I think Wexford could be the wedding hub of Ireland because we’ve got everything. We have Georgian houses, castles, lighthouses, great hotels, arts centres and we’ve got the sea and mountains. It brings great tourism as well. I’ve had weddings where I’ve asked why they’re getting married in Wexford and they said ‘Well, we always came to Wexford on our holidays’. A wedding coming to a town can bring a lot of business and they might come back again.”

If you are interested in learning more about Rosemary’s work as a celebrant or are interested in a celebrant-led wedding yourself, you can find out more information here.