HI! MY
NAME IS ...
JAMES T. CLARKE
Pastor & Wedding Officiant
Hi I'm James,
I'm the Pastor of a local Church in Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, N.Ireland.
​I am a legal wedding officiant, celebrant & solemniser in the North & South of Ireland, which means I can legally officiate your wedding or elopement at your venue or location of choice almost anywhere on our beautiful Emerald Isle of Ireland!
Having spent the last 25 years within Church service, I've been officiating weddings from 2017 and have stood front & centre for well over 350 wedding ceremonies and elopements in various locations and venues including churches, football pitches, hotels, barns, gardens, castles, beaches, cliff tops, forrest's, waterfalls, and more!
I'm extremely blessed to be a highly recommended minister (or celebrant as I'm sometimes referred too) in some exclusive wedding venues & hotels in Northern Ireland such as Galgorm Resort, The Culloden Estate, The Rabbit Retreat, Leighinmnohr House, Ballygally Castle, The Old Inn, The Wool Tower, Cultra Manor, Ballyscullion Park.
I have officiated many times in other stunning venues such as Ballyness Resort, Tullyglass, Glenlo Abbey, Dromoland Castle, Brookhall, Finnebrough Woods, Hillmount House, Altahammond Wedding Barn, Clandeboye Lodge, Red Castle, Drenagh Estate, Beech Hill, Ballymagarvey Village, Lough Erne Resort, Lusty Beg Island, Castle Leslie, Castle Bellingham, Virgina Park Lodge, Cabra Castle, Tankardstown House, Dunadry Gardens, Slieve Donard, Magheramorne Estate, Killymoon Castle, The Old Rectory Killyman, Narrow Water Castle, Kingfisher Estate, Orange Tree House, Larchfield Estate, The Carriage Rooms, Montalto Estate, Ten Square, Crowne Plaza, La Mon, Stormont Hotel, Rosspark, Belfast Castle, Millbrook Lodge and many more!
2025 AVAILABILITY IS EXTREMELY LOW.
2026 AVAILABILITY IS DISAPPEARING SUPER FAST.
2027 DATES ARE STARTING TO BOOK UP.
2028 ENQUIRIES ARE NOW STARTING TO COME IN!
300th
Wedding Ceremony!
In May 2025, I celebrated my 300th wedding ceremony as I was officiating at Killeavy Castle for Naomi & Ian Penney.
It's still never lost on me how blessed I am to be so involved in this industry especially as I spent the day with industry friends and some of the good folks from Carrickfergus!
Standing front & centre for 300 couples, WOW! What an achievement and as I write this I've just clocked 350 and I'm now well on my way to my next big milestone of 400 wedding ceremonies in 2026!
Wedding Season back in May 2024 saw me officiate six weddings in five days! I got to officiate all over Northern Ireland and work with some wedding industry favourites plus make new friends along the way!​ My week took me to:​
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Like I was saying I got to work with some amazing wedding vendors along the way including:
Mark Barnes, Catherine Hamilton, Agnieszka Marsh, Savage Love, The Sugar Room, Little Buds, Emma Lee, Lunny Imaging, Zoar Music, Paula McManus, Shutter Seven, Ruth Corry, Ruth Hood, Matthew Fields, Steven Hastings, Quirky Kitten, Wheatfield Films, Travi The Native, Kathryns Flower Barn.
Of course I made a mega Behind The Scenes Instagram Reel
Elopement!
The new old fashioned way to get married.
Fully Legal Ceremony
Want to elope to Ireland and be legally married at the same time?
I can do that. North or South, pick a beautiful spot, we'll get your paperwork in order, plan a beautiful ceremony and you'll be legally married in Ireland.
Symbolic Ceremony
Eloping to Ireland but for whatever reason you can't get the necessary paperwork in order to legally marry here? You still need to legally marry in your own country (before or afterwards) but you can still come here and have a symbolic ceremony like the real thing!
Capturing the Moment
If you haven't found someone yet, I can certainly put you in contact with a photographer / videographer who'll know the area so you'll get the best wedding content to look back on.
I work with the best in the industry, and you should too.
Paperwork
Even though you'll be on a beach, hilltop, castle, or underneath a waterfall, in some places you do need permission, some you don't. So when it comes to your paperwork, it's best to start as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
How does it all work, what's the process?
(here's the quick version)
Photo : myself
THE PAPERWORK
Help and guidance with all the necessary paperwork required to marry in North or South of Ireland.
Photo : myself
THE PREP
We then get to be a little creative. I'll take all your ideas + worries and work on your perfect ceremony!
THE BIG DAY
The big day arrives, all the prep is done, it's time to stand, smile, sign here, repeat after me and say I DO!
"Our best moment was for sure the ceremony by the lovely James Clarke - he made it so relaxed. Our son Austin was on my hip when we got married and I couldn’t have asked for a better moment."
Megan & Bradley Taylor
April 2022
