What Should I Look For in a Marriage Celebrant

Is personality and style important?

Your marriage celebrant should be someone you connect with and feel comfortable around. They should have a warm, friendly and approachable personality and be willing to listen to your preferences and ideas. Look for someone who can customize a ceremony that reflects your personalities and style.

How important is experience and qualifications?

Look for a marriage celebrant who has a thorough understanding of the legal requirements, sound knowledge of the local area and conditions and who is registered and authorized to perform weddings in the state, territory and country you are planning to hold your wedding. Remember, if they are not legally registered you are not legally married.

What about availability and flexibility?

Consider the availability and flexibility of your marriage celebrant. A good celebrant will be available on your wedding day and at nominated times during the planning process. They should be responsive and easy to communicate with. They should have a flexible approach and be willing to work with your schedule and preferences.

How much does a celebrant cost?

Check out the pricing and packages on offer by your potential celebrants. You want to ensure you are getting value for your money. Look for a celebrant who is transparent about their pricing and packages, has flexibility within their package options. There may be added options that you want to include such as a hand-fasting ceremony, you need to discuss these optional extras with your celebrant as they usually do have elements that do cost extra. If you know how much you need to pay before you set your heart on a particular element, you will not hit you with hidden fees and charges.

Are reviews and recommendations important?

While reviews and recommendations are a good way to get an understanding of what your prospective celebrant can do, they are not the be-all-and-end-all of choosing a celebrant. Don’t forget, many celebrants do not ask for or receive reviews and recommendations, that does not mean they are not good at what they do. It could just mean they are not comfortable asking their clients to leave a review!
Have a chat, meet face-to-face and judge for yourself is the celebrant’s personality, ideas, understanding of your needs matches your own. Do you get along? Do you think you can work with them? Do you think they will be able to bring your dreams to life? Trust your own instincts first and foremost.
If you do want to check their reviews and recommendations you can normally find testimonials on the celebrant’s webpage, social media page, ask family and friends or contact the Celebrants Network for recommendations in your local area. If you cannot find reviews (some celebrants do not like posting them) you can ask your prospective celebrant if they are happy for you to speak to past clients who may be able to give you a first-hand understanding of the quality of service and professionalism you can expect.