Spiritual Orkney's guide to fees for fully legal weddings

Costs for legal weddings

Costs and Fees for Legal Weddings

All of our fully legal wedding ceremonies are unique and bespoke services which take considerable preparation to ensure they are perfect for you and your guests.

We aim for our fees to be at a level which reflects the time and skill that we will invest in creating your ritual. Our charges reflect our professionalism as celebrants and the level of quality of service we aim to provide to you.

We offer an inclusive ritual 'package' which is designed to make wedding planning easier for couples who are travelling to Orkney to get married. Not everything we offer in our ritual 'package' needs to be included in your ceremony and we will discuss with you to ensure that the 'package' we offer to you fully meets your needs and budget.

We usually include all of the following:

performing your ceremony on the day (usually we both attend)
our time to write your bespoke ceremony, plus our preparation time, including unlimited correspondence, communication and advice
on-line meetings in advance of your ceremony on request (usually via Zoom or similar)
guidance with completing, submitting and returning the legal paperwork
loan of pen and ink (fountain pen) to sign the legal paperwork
assistance with obtaining permissions to use the site(s)
a pre-ceremony meeting (not quite a rehearsal but almost) to ensure that everything will be to your exact requirements and to check your Marriage Schedule; we don't rush this initial meeting but rather we go over the finer details of your ritual so that it is perfect for you - it also gives you an opportunity to get to know us a bit better, if we have never met before, hence reducing any 'wedding nerves' on the actual day
no limit on the number of guests who can attend (subject to venue capacity and health and safety considerations)

our photography service (for larger gatherings of more than a dozen guests, we recommend that you procure the services of a dedicated event photographer to get the full range of coverage usually required)

a certificate to commemorate your ceremony, printed on 'parchment' style card

your complete ceremony printed on headed paper as a keepsake

preparation of any readings on discrete laminated cards - so no one has to memorise anything

a Skull Splitter libation to request good weather (if using an outside venue), usually made at the pre-ceremony meeting

your choice of altar cloth (loaned to you from our selection)

a celebratory toast from a quaich, drinking horn, or chalice*
small candle (in a lamp)
our special homemade blend of wedding incense
a wildflower posy for the altar (when seasonally available from our own land, otherwise purchased flowers)
a honey cake as a gift for the spirits of the place
our travel expenses within Mainland Orkney (West and East Mainland)
attendance at more than one venue (ceremonies can take place at more than one venue, although only one site will be named on the Marriage Schedule and that is where the legal declarations must be made)
no additional surcharge for popular days and times of year (such as Beltane and midsummer), although conditions may apply
unless agreed with you in advance, we reserve the whole day exclusively to your ceremony, in case you choose to change the time of your wedding, although conditions may apply
provision of witnesses (if required)
loan of a decorated broomstick, or we will decorate your broomstick for you if you prefer
handmade handfasting cords (made to your instructions and for you to keep)
loan of handmade rune or ogham sets (also available to purchase)
loan of ritual clothing or artefacts (subject to suitability and availability)
arranging musicians such as a bag-piper or harpist if requested (an additional fee will apply if the musicians request payment)
any other special requests that we deem reasonable to provide

* Alcohol can be provided to over 18s only, sorry

For 2024, our suggested fees for fully legal weddings, which includes all of the above, will be set at our handfasting rates (£749) plus an administrative fee of £50 to cover the additional time it takes us to guide couples through the legal paperwork that also needs to be completed in order to comply with the legal requirements of a marriage ceremony.

We understand that every couple has unique needs and differing budgets so, if our fees are beyond what you can afford, please contact us about designing a ritual for you that is costed at a level that is comfortable for you as well as being fair for us. For example, if you do not wish us to provide a photography service, you can expect us to reduce our fee by about a third.

There is no requirement for you to join, or be a member of, any organisation or group in order to use our services.

You may also choose to add any of our crafts, such as mini-besoms.

Please note that, other than the fees we charge, we receive no money, payments, stipends, allowances, or similar from any organisation, religious or otherwise, in order to provide this service to you.

To ensure that everything goes according to your plans and to minimise misunderstandings, we recommend that you plan ahead and communicate with us as much as possible, we will do likewise with you. We want your ceremony to be perfect for you, as long as you tell us what you want, we will do everything we can to deliver.

Concerned about the cost?

We understand that every couple has unique needs and differing budgets so, if our fees are beyond what you can afford, please contact us about designing a wedding ritual for you that is costed at a level that is comfortable for you as well as being fair for us.

This particularly applies if you want a simple or basic legal wedding ritual and are resident in Orkney and members of the Scottish Pagan Federation, or some other Pagan organisation. We are able to provide shorter wedding ceremonies which will still be recognisably Pagan in tone, and which will fulfill the legal requirements of a marriage ceremony, but which will not necessarily be written uniquely for you, nor include as much provision of 'ceremonial equipment' as described above.

If you opt for a legal Pagan wedding which requires only minimal time investment on our part, we will, at our discretion, ask only that you cover our expenses, if there are any. Conditions may apply and we would request that you are flexible and reasonable, please.

We pledge that we will always do our best to tailor our services to match your requirements and budget on request, especially when this applies to meeting the needs of our local Pagan community in Orkney, whom we aim to serve.

Additional fees - that may apply

Travel and Expenses

Travel beyond Mainland, Orkney, will incur expenses at cost. If we need to incur travel expenses we will require these to be paid in advance of us booking travel arrangements; we will endeavour to use our islander travel discounts wherever possible to keep costs to a minimum. If we travel using our own car, we charge mileage at £0.50GB per mile. We can usually provide an estimate of what our travel expenses will be in advance.

Providing Food and Drink

If requested, we can serve a celebratory toast in a quaich.

A toast is a symbolic drink to honour the couple. A quaich is shallow cup, usually two-handled, which originated in Scotland (refer to photograph). If you would like to drink from a chalice, or drinking horn, or bowl instead, please do ask to borrow an item from our collection.

Because of the increase in allergies and food intolerances, we kindly ask that you please supply your own food and drink, if required.

If you request that we serve a specific drink or food for your ritual, or for all your guests, we can obtain it on your behalf but reserve the right to make an additional charge for this and we require advanced notice please. Based on experience, we strongly advise that food and drink consumed as part of a wedding ritual are provided in symbolic quantities only.

Options include:

Mead is a traditional wine made with honey

Highland Park (Orkney) whisky

For those who do not drink alcohol, we suggest apple juice

For vegans we recommend Black Portent from Orkney Wine

There is also a non-alcoholic mead for those who do not drink alcohol - 'hydromel' - this is a medieval recipe of honey, apple juice, spices and water

Please note that we are only able to present alcohol to over 18s.

Broomsticks and Mini-Besoms

Our decorated broomsticks are perfect for jumping over, at the end of your ceremony!

The broomstick may represent the couple's home and, more specifically, their hearth fire at the heart of their home or it may symbolise the 'leap of faith' which the couple are taking as they start their new life together. This custom may have African-American and Romani origins, although the Welsh had 'priodas wes ysgub' - 'broomstick weddings'.

We can loan a traditional besom for this purpose, if you require one, which we decorate with seasonal flowers and herbs from our own garden (May through to mid-September only), or with purchased flowers (all other times of year).

We have had a number of couples asking if they can purchase the broomstick which they jump over. Sorry, but our answer is 'No, Esmerelda is not for sale, what would we then fly on?!'

You are also welcome to bring your own broomstick, which we will decorate for you if you ask us to.

In addition, you may wish to order a handmade miniature besoms as a keepsake. Simply order one (or more) miniature besom(s) in advance and it will be made to your instructions (with threads, ribbons and charms of your choice).

On the day of your ceremony we will bring your mini-besom(s) along with our full-sized besom, both decorated with seasonal herbs and flowers (when available), for you to jump over them all together at the same time! Then you get to keep the miniature besom as a keepsake or perhaps give them as a gift for your guests as a wedding favour.

Helen & Mark Woodsford-Dean
Craigielea, Harray, Orkney, Scotland, KW17 2JU
+44 (0)7749 934617 (mobile)

+44 (0)1856 761133
info@spiritualorkney.co.uk

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Spiritual Orkney is a partnership of whom Helen & Mark Woodsford-Dean are the partners.