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 BOM rain radar on our home computer or mobile phone. Many is the time I've been at the venue on the phone to my husband at home who's looking at the radar map and saying "the rain's at least 45 minutes away" or similar. http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDR492.loop.shtml
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.
