Ok, you’ve finally worked out where you want to get married and the venue you both want is available! Woohoo, high-fives, and amongst all the excitement is the feeling of, ok, what’s next? Who or what do we need to book next?
You need a connection with your celebrant, they will be an excellent resource for you.
Of course, my answer is your celebrant. If you’re after someone who you can connect with, who you can learn to trust and who will move hell and high water to make your day THE.BEST.DAY.EVER. for you and your guests, then you need to book them early. It might be a long journey until your big day so you need someone you can lean on and seek their guidance.
The added advantage of doing it asap is that you have heaps of time to give them what they need to create your ceremony, leaving you free to focus on other suppliers and the million other details of the day.
Your celebrant may be able to recommend other local suppliers, like photographers.
So you’re a bit overwhelmed, not sure where to start. How do you know if they’re any good or not? And I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, but good ol’ Google is my main source of enquiries. So sure, Google wedding celebrant, but my advice is try to find someone in the vicinity of your ceremony location. This will avoid travel costs, they’ll probably be able to recommend other local suppliers plus they’ll be familiar with the area or venue which can be really advantageous.
It might be local info like tides if it’s a beach wedding, or finding that special secluded spot, whether the venue is LGBTQI-friendly, whether the event coordinator is on-the-ball, all sorts of inside information. A good celebrant will have experience and have gathered a zillion little snippets of info that might be really helpful for you in your planning.
That secluded little spot for my UK couple, Char and Matt, who had dreamt of an Aussie beach-wedding!
Photograph from Alice Laidlaw Photography
So you’ve googled ‘local celebrant’ and five have come up. I’m not trying to teach you how to suck eggs but check out their website, FB and Insta feed and see if you get a good vibe. Are they your type of person? The right celebrant can make or break your ceremony and alot of people don’t realise until later that the ceremony is the foundation for the rest of your celebration. Trust me, you want an awesome ceremony to kick off your party!
Guests engaged and enjoying the ceremony.
Photography from Silas Chau Photography
When you look at the five options, follow your initial gut-instinct and check out the reviews. Do the reviews give you lots of info and an insight into the relationship they developed with the couple? This might narrow it down to 2 to 3. Then make contact and I always recommend a quick call. You’ve got nothing to lose but everything to gain just by hearing their voice and getting a ‘feel’. If they have potential and their price is within your budget, ask if they’d be willing to meet up for a drink or a coffee for a no-obligation chat.
My Melbourne ‘office’ where I meet many of my couples marrying down the coast.
That’s when you and your partner will know if this person is right for you and someone you could learn to trust. I’ve written a blog for the Geelong Celebrant Collective, my tribe, on the questions that can help you decide on the right celebrant so, if you’re interested check it out here.
You might end up ‘interviewing’ 2 or 3 celebrants: do you have something in common, are they excited and asking you questions about YOUR ideas, do they have lots of resources you can access. These are all things to look for and hopefully you can then make a choice. Or, you might just go with the first one. Either way, it’s worth taking the time to make sure you get the right person for you.
And, you’ll be pleased to know, there is a right celebrant for everyone so, if it’s not me, I’ve got a heap of colleagues I can recommend.
A celebrant who loves a good laugh!
Photography from Coastal Pix Photography
Go on, give me a call and we’ll chat weddings!