You’ve bought the amazing dress, hired or bought the suits.
You've booked hair, nails, make up being done perhaps professionally, maybe
bought special outfits for attendants and any children in the wedding party,
hired photographer, wedding cars, settled on a price per head meal for your
guests, etc…
Do
you really want to settle on a “one ceremony fits all – you fill in the gaps”
ceremony?
Once upon a time, I used to think Celebrants had about 5 choices of ceremony for
couples, met them once and just "rocked up on the day".
Goodness, was I ever wrong!!
I can provide that "basic" type of ceremony, and have done so when that's all the couple wanted (particularly if they're eloping). However do
remember, much as you both will be caught up in the emotion of the day and may
not remember much about the details afterwards, your guests will. So often I
have heard from couples that they attended a wedding that was long and boring.
Well ..... I've never had anyone fall asleep when I've been officiating.
I'm
much happier on your behalf when we can work together to really make the
ceremony and day, yours.
I
had to train over five months with a government approved agency, then wait 18
months to be appointed.
Every year it is required by law for Celebrants to undergo Ongoing Professional development. I
choose to attend as many of these and Celebrant conferences as I can to
expand my knowledge base and keep fresh with new ideas for the future.
Some of the annual
expenses are: running a home office and computer/software, website, phone and
mobile, car,
advertising (Yellow Pages and Internet), membership of Professional Federations,
professional indemnity insurance, compulsory paperwork and postage required for
weddings, filing cabinets etc, accountant, 30% tax to the government, etc...are you getting the picture?
How
important is it for you to have a professional? You (hopefully) only get one go
at this!
As a
professional celebrant the service I offer couples includes:
 |
Being available to you between the first booking and the wedding (and
afterwards if need be). There’s no such thing as a silly question. See if you
can beat the record of 89 emails from a Bride! |
|
If you live locally,
meeting with you at
least twice (if not more) to not only make sure your legal paperwork is
completed properly, but to get an idea of what you want for your ceremony. If
you're from out of town, we organise phone calls then meet a day or two before
the wedding. |
|
Providing you with a Ceremony tailored specially for you that you’re happy
with. This includes composing your unique personal journey into an enjoyable
ceremony, and takes time to collate and perfect. |
|
Getting to know you a little - be it in person or by phone or email. We can
then work together to co-create a Ceremony that reflects your personalities,
be it after draft 2 or 7. |
|
Research into
special requirements. |
|
A
rehearsal with the entire bridal party the week or day before the wedding, to
choreograph the proceedings. Every couple have said after their rehearsal what
a good idea it was, and how glad they were to have had one. |
|
Offering an extensive range of poetry, prose, ideas for those magic ceremony
touches, and music which reflect you. |
|
A "borrowable" ring
cushion. |
|
A
good quality battery operated PA system complete with CD player, head
microphone (recommended where there is over 70 guests), and free standing
microphone for readers. |
|
Your music for the processional (entering), signing (10 – 15 minutes), and
recessional (leaving). The music sets the theme, and its organisation and
timing is very important. |
|
Careful selection of my attire to fit in with both your colour theme and style. |
|
Travelling to and
from the wedding venue. |
|
Arriving at least 20 minutes before the Ceremony to ensure chairs, tables
flowers etc are in place, set up the PA in the best position, liaise with
venue staff/musicians, etc. |
|
Ensuring all official paperwork is in order and sent promptly to the
appropriate Registry office. |
|
Being covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance. |
|
Last but not least,
having satellite weather on our home computer. Many is the time I've been at
the venue on the phone to my husband at home who's looking at the satellite
map and saying "the rain's at least 45 minutes away" or similar. |
On average I would spend between 7 - 20 hours on each wedding.
You will also get a celebrant who spends a lot of time making sure you get
everything right.
You get what you pay for
There are no short cuts to well prepared successful ceremonies.
As you can see, there
are many options so it is difficult to put exact costs on this site.
My cost structure is tailored to what you might want. After all, you wouldn't
expect a florist to have one price for all its bouquets or a Bridal boutique to
have the same price for all its wedding dresses.
A non
refundable (if you cancel) deposit of $250 is required within 14 days of lodgement of your
Notice of Intent in order to confirm and secure your desired date and time.
Most
of the Celebrants in this area support each other, so should I be unavailable on
your selected day through some unforseen emergency I'd be happy to try to find you an alternative Celebrant.
Please contact me to discuss your specific requirements.
© Ginny Bydder 2006-2009
