Getting Married in England as an American: Why a Celebrant Ceremony Could Be Perfect for You

There is something wonderfully romantic about getting married in England.

A beautiful country house. A garden overflowing with flowers. A historic London venue. Centuries of tradition mixed with a wedding that feels completely modern and completely yours.

As a wedding celebrant based near London, I have had the pleasure of creating ceremonies for American couples who have chosen to get married in England, as well as American brides marrying their British partners here in the UK.

And one thing I have learnt?

You can absolutely embrace the best British wedding traditions without having to have a traditional British wedding.

Getting married in England when you're American

Planning a wedding in another country can initially feel complicated, particularly when you start looking at the legal requirements alongside venues, suppliers and everything else that comes with planning a wedding.

But your legal marriage and your personal wedding ceremony don't necessarily have to be the same event.

Some international couples choose to complete their legal marriage separately and then work with a celebrant to create the ceremony they actually want to share with their family and friends.

For American couples living in the UK, or travelling to England for their wedding, this can create an enormous amount of freedom.

You can incorporate British wedding traditions.

You can bring in traditions from home.

You can involve friends and family who have travelled across the Atlantic.

And, most importantly, you can create something that actually feels like the two of you.

Lindsey an amercian bride, married her English husband Paul in a luxury celebrant led ceremony at Pembroke Lodge, Richmond

An American wedding at Petersham Nurseries

Autumn and Adam are both American and moved to the UK before deciding to get married here.

They didn't want a huge, conventional wedding.

Instead, they created an intimate garden dinner party at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond.

I've previously shared more of Autumn and Adam's beautiful Petersham Nurseries wedding and the story behind their wonderfully personal ceremony.

Petersham Nurseries is one of those wonderfully unusual London wedding settings. Hidden away in Richmond, its greenhouses are surrounded by plants, flowers and gardens, creating a setting that feels almost like an English secret garden.

For Autumn and Adam, it was perfect.

Their legal ceremony had already taken place, but many of their friends and family, including guests travelling from overseas, hadn't been there.

So their celebrant ceremony needed to feel significant.

This wasn't simply a nice speech before dinner.

We wanted their guests to experience a real wedding ceremony and, importantly for Autumn and Adam, incorporate some traditional British elements into the celebration.

It meant their American friends and family could experience a little of the country Autumn and Adam now called home while still having a ceremony that felt unmistakably theirs.

Autumn later wrote:

“Kathryn helped us bring that vision to life while making our friends and family feel part of the magic and ceremony. It was important for us to have those from out of town/abroad who didn't attend our legal ceremony have the full ceremonial experience filled with some traditional (British) rituals.”

That is exactly what I love about celebrant ceremonies.

There isn't a choice between having an American wedding or a British wedding.

You can take the traditions you love from both and leave behind the ones you don't.

American couple Autumn and Adam, Take part in a handfasting ritual during their ceremony at Petersham Nurseries

You can read more about Autumn and Adam's intimate wedding at Petersham Nurseries and how we created their completely personal ceremony.

Bringing British wedding traditions into your ceremony

For couples coming from America, some British wedding traditions can be a lovely way to acknowledge where you've chosen to marry.

But they shouldn't feel like they're being added simply because somebody says that's what you're supposed to do.

A celebrant ceremony gives us the freedom to explore traditions and find the ones that actually mean something to you.

We might incorporate handfasting, personal vows, meaningful readings, music, family involvement or entirely new rituals of your own.

Sometimes we will honour different nationalities, cultures or family traditions within the same ceremony.

Sometimes we'll ignore tradition altogether.

There is no standard script that every couple has to follow.

That's the point.

An American bride and an English groom at Pembroke Lodge

Then there was Lindsey and Paul.

Lindsey is American. Paul is English.

They chose the beautiful Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park for their wedding.

With a couple from two different countries, the ceremony becomes a wonderful opportunity to bring those worlds together.

Family and friends may have travelled thousands of miles to be there. Some guests will know one half of the couple incredibly well but perhaps know much less about the other.

That's why I think storytelling is such an important part of an international wedding ceremony.

I don't want your guests simply to watch you get married.

I want them to leave feeling as though they know you both a little better.

After their wedding, Lindsey wrote:

“Kathryn was fabulous! We got SO many compliments on our ceremony - everyone thought she had known us for years. She brought so much great energy and enthusiasm to our ceremony and we're so glad to have had her be part of our day. 10/10 highly recommend :)”

That is probably one of my favourite compliments to receive.

Because I hadn't known them for years.

But I had taken the time to really get to know them.

“It's like having a ray of sunshine at your wedding”

It's lovely hearing what my couples think of their ceremonies.

But I also really value feedback from the wedding professionals working alongside me.

Lindsey and Paul's photographer later said:

“Kathryn's approach to weddings is something to behold. We've shot hundreds of weddings with vicars, registrars and celebrants and I can't think of anyone better to conduct proceedings. She's like having a ray of sunshine at your wedding!”

They went on to say:

“If I was getting married again I'd book her in a heartbeat and she's now top of our list for recommendations.”

For me, that's particularly special because your celebrant doesn't work in isolation.

We are part of a team.

Your wedding planner, photographer, videographer, musicians, venue team and celebrant all need to work together to make the ceremony look and feel effortless.

Luxury weddings should be celebrant-led so you can design what is said with intention. Celebrant led ceremony at Petersham nurseries.

Can Americans legally get married in England?

This is the part where I always encourage couples to separate two questions:

How do we become legally married?

and

What do we want our wedding ceremony to feel like?

They aren't necessarily the same thing.

The legal requirements for marrying in England and Wales depend on your individual circumstances, including nationality and immigration status, so international couples should always check the current official requirements when planning their wedding.

A celebrant-led ceremony is separate from those legal formalities.

And that separation can actually be incredibly freeing.

Autumn and Adam had already completed their legal ceremony. Their celebration at Petersham Nurseries was about creating the full ceremonial experience for the people they loved.

That meant we could concentrate entirely on making the ceremony memorable rather than allowing paperwork to dictate what it needed to look like.

A wedding ceremony for guests travelling from America

If people are flying across the Atlantic to watch you get married, I think it's worth giving them something extraordinary when they arrive.

Your ceremony is your opportunity to welcome everyone into your story.

Who are you?

How did you meet?

What made one of you move countries?

And which traditions are you very happily leaving behind?

Those details are where the personality lives.

They are also what turns a wedding ceremony from something your guests politely watch into something they genuinely experience.

Planning your UK wedding from America

If you're currently living in the United States and planning a destination wedding in England, having suppliers you trust on the ground becomes incredibly important.

Much of the ceremony planning can happen remotely.

I regularly get to know couples through video calls, questionnaires and conversations before we ever stand together at their wedding venue.

We can work on your story.

We can write and refine your vows.

We can talk about traditions you'd like to incorporate.

And we can make sure that by the time you arrive at your wedding ceremony, that part of the day already feels completely taken care of.

Because nobody should cross the Atlantic and spend the morning of their wedding worrying about what their celebrant is going to say.

American wedding. British wedding. Or simply your wedding?

My answer is always the last one.

Your wedding.

You don't have to recreate an American wedding in England.

And you certainly don't have to suddenly become terribly British because you've chosen to marry here.

Take the things you love from both.

Bring your people together.

Serve the food you adore.

Use the traditions that mean something.

Ignore the ones that don't.

And create a ceremony that makes everybody in the room understand exactly why the two of you have chosen each other.

Whether you're an American couple now living in London, an American bride or groom marrying a British partner, or you're planning a destination wedding in England from the United States, your ceremony can bring all of those different worlds together.

That's exactly what makes it yours.

Looking for a wedding celebrant in England?

I'm Kathryn B Wilson, a luxury wedding celebrant creating bespoke humanist wedding ceremonies across London, Buckinghamshire, the Home Counties and for destination weddings.

I work with British and international couples to create personal ceremonies filled with storytelling, humour, warmth and traditions from around the world.

If you're planning your wedding in England from America, or you're an international couple now calling the UK home, I'd love to hear your story.

Have a look at what other couples have said on my google reviews!

Get in touch to talk about your ceremony.