How to choose your marriage celebrant

Mikaela and Luke - Mali Brae

Your wedding ceremony is THE most important part of the day; without it, you’d just be having a really expensive party. Once you’ve decided on your venue and date, the next task is to select your celebrant.

Not all of us are the same; we differ in our approach, in our style and in the services we offer, and with over 9000 Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrants in Australia, you’re very well-positioned to find a celebrant who is perfect for you. So how exactly do you go about doing this?

1.      Personal recommendation

This one’s a no-brainer. You may know someone who was married recently. They had either a celebrant they’d recommend, or a celebrant they wouldn’t.

2.      Watching one in action

You either liked the celebrant’s style or you didn’t.

3.      Wedding expos

While you might think wedding expos can be a great way of almost speed dating celebrants, expos strictly limit how many celebrants they allow to exhibit; you definitely won’t be presented with a plethora. Still, the way a celebrant approaches you at an expo, and the way they follow up on an enquiry should give you a pretty good idea of who they are and what they’re all about.

4.      Preferred vendor

Many venues have preferred suppliers, whether they be florists, caterers, cake-makers or celebrants. While this does speak volumes for the supplier (the venue has preferred suppliers because they’re known and they know the venue), it does provide you with a limited choice. You aren’t always getting the best value for your money either. (Having written this, I admit that I am NOT a preferred vendor as I am still fairly new to the celebrancy business.

5.      Website

A celebrant’s website speaks volumes for who they are: the font, colours, iconography, copy, photographs and testimonials are all carefully curated to convey the celebrant’s message. (I know I put hours into mine. It’s simple, but I love it.)

6.      A phone call

If you like the ‘feel’ of someone, arrange a video or audio call. Or at least fill out the contact details on their website and ask for an information booklet and pricing. If you do call, make sure you have a bunch of questions you’d like to ask. The celebrant should be able to outline the process he or she uses as well.

As I write this, I have a book open alongside me: Dally M. Messenger’s Ceremonies Celebrations. (This book actually prompted this post.) In the introductory section of her book, Messenger discusses fess, comparing cheap celebrants to cask wine and more expensive celebrants to finer bottles of wine. I dare to disagree. Whilst I do acknowledge that there are celebrants who are better than others, some newer celebrants will be charging less simply because they are new; they NEED your business. While being new does mean the celebrant has less experience, it also means that they will go above and beyond to deliver an exceptional service, which will hopefully result in some wonderful testimonials and accompanying photography to upload to their websites. I still remember how grateful I was when my first couple took a chance on me. And I will ALWAYS regard it as a privilege when I’m the celebrant a couple chooses.

If you are looking for a celebrant, I’d love you to contact me, but even if you don’t, I sincerely wish you a long and happy married life.

With much love,

Bec x