Jason finally proposed and Amanda said YES! They are so excited and can’t wait to get married but they didn’t quite realise how much detail goes into organising a wedding. They’re feeling good about the venue they’ve seen, the florist that was recommended, the catering company and the photographer. There’s a slight feeling like they have paid a bit more than originally planned, but they know it’s worth it, because after all, they only plan on getting married once and want it to be the most amazing day ever!
Now it’s time to put out for some recommendations for a Marriage Celebrant, they know that they probably could have got onto it a bit sooner, but it didn’t seem like the biggest priority. Jason and Amanda want to find a ‘cheap’ or ‘affordable’ Marriage Celebrant, and are feeling frustrated that they all cost too much. They have already spent so much on everything else, why does a celebrant cost so much anyway?
What is going on here?
I see this scenario quite a bit and it got me thinking. How come Marriage Celebrants get such a bad wrap and are so underrated for their skills and qualifications?
Out of all of the vendors you could hire to be a part of your most magical day, the Marriage Celebrant is the only one that can actually turn your very expensive party into a legal wedding. So lets investigate…
Myths about weddings and Marriage Celebrants
We’ve all seen that movie where the couple finally decide to get married and they ask their best friend to marry them and 2-minutes later, after a quick Google search, their friend is a qualified celebrant…
Or those shows where they spontaneously decide to get married, drive to Vegas and within a few hours they’re hitched…
Or maybe even the ones that show a surprise proposal that turns into a wedding, right there and then?!
Or those weddings where one party finds out that when they were on a bender last weekend, they somehow got married to someone they just met, or their best friends girlfriend, or an exotic dancer called Candy or Cinnamon (not their real names), or they marry someone who doesn’t speak or understand the same language, it’s just that the sex is great!
Guess what? That’s not how it works in Australia!
The Actual Facts!
Here in Oz, to become a Marriage Celebrant it takes between 6-12 months of study. It also costs thousands of dollars for the certification, requires community references, a yearly registration fee and annual OPD requirements. It’s not a 2-minute form on a website and not just anyone can become a celebrant. We work hard for our certification and we do a lot to keep it! Some of us also go above and beyond to continually upskill so that we can continue to create awesome ceremonies for awesome couples!
The boring stuff! Or is it?
Marriages are a legally binding contract that two people enter into, according to Australian law. That means you need all of the information required for signing any legal contract. Proof of ID – like a birth certificate or passport, photo ID – like a drivers licence, and other relevant information. There are a lot of boxes to tick, we need to know you are who you say you are, and that your partner knows who you are too!
Consent is the number one priority for marriages in Australia. We need to know that both parties want to be married to each other, that there is no coercion, pressure, language barriers or cultural misunderstandings when it comes to entering into a legally binding contract with another. That means:
- No SURPRISE weddings (both people need to know it’s going to happen)
- No spur of the moment weddings (commitment is key)
- And, if there is a language barrier, there must be a qualified interpreter present
You also actually need to both sign a form at least one month before your wedding ceremony. We like that 30-day cooling off period in Australia, just to be extra sure!
So why is there such a varying price range between celebrants?
It’s true there is a wide range of prices and fees when it comes to celebrants across Australia. It depends on location, demand, popularity and years of service. Some celebrants only do weddings as a side hustle, some do it as their full time job. Some undergo regular skill upgrades and refinement to provide the best ceremonies possible, some just stick to a generic script for all of their couples. Some are new and are happy to charge less to get a few weddings under their belt, others have been doing it for eons and only want to work with couples that want the best too!
Many of us have specialty ceremonies that we cater for. From elopement style, micro-weddings, themed weddings, traditional, religious, same sex, destination ceremonies, the list goes one. Some of us love doing all of these and more!
So now what?
So there you have it, before you decide that all marriage celebrants are the same, providing generic weddings from the same script over and over again, and only show up for 30 minutes on the day. Or that they just do the boring bit, that everyone wants to get out of the way before the real party starts, I would encourage you to do some more research.
After all, if you are willing to pay heaps for a dress, big money for a photographer and videographer, thousands for a venue, flowers, bridesmaids dresses, cars, catering, bar tab and so on, surely its worth an extra few dollars to make sure you get a celebrant that feels GREAT for you and that will make the effort to give you the most beautiful wedding ceremony possible?!
If you’d like more info, feel free to contact me, or check out my other wedding related articles below.
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