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!
I've been officiating weddings and elopements since 2017 and have officiated well over 300 wedding ceremonies 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 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 FAST
2027 DATES ARE NOW STARTING TO BOOK UP
300th
Wedding Ceremony!
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!
300 wedding ceremonies, what a achievement and I'm already 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 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.
Photo : Paula McManus
June 2023
Sarah-Kate & Bennet eloped from the United States of America to the Causeway Coast of Northern Ireland and they tied the knot just beside the ruins of Kinbane Castle. We all worked on the ceremony which was complete with a mix of traditional & personal vows, handfasting + a hand written letter from home which had us all in tears! Then it was off to the Giants Causeway itself as the sun was setting for a few evening images all taken by the wonderful Paula McManus!
Photo : Sun & Beau
DECEMBER 2021
Sharron & Gary got engaged and planned a wedding within three months! Sharron is the owner of Innocent Chaos, specialists in luxury artificial flowers. They included fellow small businesses and vendors in Northern Ireland that they have either worked with or followed, as they both love to support other creators and local businesses and I was fortunate to work along side Emily Rose, Pomegranate & fig and Sun & Beau.
December 2021
Kirstie and Thomas got married in the Renaissance Suite at Galgorm Resort on 23rd of June 2022. The entire day was held in the Renaissance Suite and it looked so good. Working with a great team that day including David McConkey, Mark Barnes, Minford Media and Fairy Tales had the room looking fab!
How does it all work?
(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
