Choosing A Celebrant
Choosing a celebrant
How hard can it be?
Having the perfect ceremony is not as hard as it seems or is it?
Finding the right celebrant appears difficult because how do you know the one you have chosen is right for you?
Believe it or believe it not, price is irrelevant when it comes to choosing the right celebrant.
You have a wedding budget so work around it, because some things will be more expensive than you thought and some things will be less than you thought.
The difference between the celebrant you want and suits you both verses a celebrant that is $100 cheaper can be the difference between beautiful memories that will last a lifetime or a disastrous memory that will also last a life time.
Give your ceremony the effort it deserves. Your ceremony is the very beginning of your journey together as husband and wife.
It is helpful to choose a celebrant on recommendation or one that you have seen in action. However often it is not as easy as that.
I suggest you phone a celebrant rather than email, by doing so you will get an instant feel for the way they speak, their passion for their profession, there enthusiasm for the type of ceremony you are wanting.
So much can be achieved, and so much doubt can be done away with in a five minute phone conversation.
All celebrants have the good intention of delivering the perfect ceremony.
You are their advertisement.
If a celebrant performs well at your wedding you will willingly talk about the ceremony recommend the celebrant to all your friends and most importantly you will remember your ceremony with the importance and respect it deserves.
However, unfortunately there is good, bad and indifferent.
We are not talking about what a celebrant cannot control e.g. weather wind and mishaps etc all of which contribute to the success of your ceremony. We are talking about drab, boring, repetitive, monotonous, all of which you the bride and groom can control by choosing a celebrant that suits your needs.
Personality is important because your celebrant has to reflect you as a couple and accommodate the type of ceremony you would like.
A good celebrant will be flexible open to suggestions and will be able to adapt to a couple while working with you to help create a ceremony that will reflect your wishes.
Your celebrant should be friendly, confident and professional. You will know all of these things the minute you both meet.
Most celebrants are creative and passionate about their work and are excited at the opportunity of providing a ceremony that reflects the passion and the personality of two people very much in love.
To do this your celebrant has to be willing to listen they need to take on board your wishes and know how to be creative, add humour, have good writing and storytelling ability, while staying true to the couple.
All this is important because no couple is the same.
A good indication of a suitable celebrant is to ask like minded friends what they thought of their celebrant.
As much as a celebrant will work with a couple the couple need to reciprocate by sharing information and letting the celebrant know information on, how you met, the type of people you are, your likes and dislikes. Ask the celebrant for readings so he/she can get a feel for your likes and dislikes and the type of people you are.
After meeting with your celebrant if you feel confident and relaxed at the fact you liked your celebrant and your celebrant liked you will have the ceremony you desire.
A ceremony takes on a format and the type of ceremony you want is portrayed in, your theme, your story, your readings and your additional ceremonies.
Don’t panic… you do not have to include all this in your ceremony however the more you include the more your ceremony will take shape and reflect you as a couple.
It does not have to be bigger than Ben Hur. You can just have the bare essentials to make everything legal, because that also reflects you as a couple.
Short quick ceremonies are usually reserved for very small gatherings.
If you have a larger wedding group, chances are you will have guests that have travelled. Most people dress to the nines for a wedding so you want it to be worth their while. In return they will appreciate your wedding ceremony and will look forward to giving your ceremony their undivided attention.
For larger wedding groups I always tell couples 20 minutes is great, you can hold everyone’s attention well for 20 minutes even children. Anything over half an hour is bordering to long for your guests.
It goes without saying your celebrant should be well presented, punctual, have good diction, be flexible, adapt to situations with a sense of humour, be friendly, trustworthy, approachable, sincere and respectful to you as a couple, leaving you with no doubt that he/she acting as your celebrant will deliver.
If your celebrant ticks all those boxes he /she will be professional and deliver a wedding ceremony worthy of the loving couple standing before the celebrant to say ‘’I do”.
