How To Choose Your Wedding Celebrant
You’ve found Mr or Mrs Right but now you need to find your wedding celebrant who is going to make this dream a reality. He or she is going to sort the tricky legals and guide the creative process to make this ceremony quintessentially YOU.
Here are my top tips to choosing your perfect wedding celebrant:
If you don’t want to swipe right, then don’t
In the world of online dating where many happily married couples have been and gone, choosing your celebrant is as easy as swiping right or left. Does their Instagram or Facebook make you YAY? Does their website give you clear and informative content to make this process a breeze? Are you picking up what they’re putting down? If it’s not a hell yes! Then chances are this person might not be the best fit for you. If they haven’t captured your attention in the first 10 seconds, they might have lost you…
Hear their voice or see them in action
But hang on a second, you can’t always judge a book by its cover. Hey! I like you. You’re giving us celebrants a chance to win you over.
Give your celebrant a call or lock in a Skype session. There’s nothing better than hearing someone’s voice, their tone, their warmth and willingness to have a conversation with you. You can always tell when someone is smiling through the phone and it’s a great way to build rapport early on with a crucial service provider for your wedding day.
If your celebrant is clever, they’ll have some video content across their website or socials that gives you the opportunity to get to know them personally… from the comfort of your couch.
Would you choose this person as a friend?
You know sometimes when you meet someone and think WOW - this is a cool human. I would like to get to know this human better. They’re funny and smart and have some cool stuff to say. Yeah, it’s likely you might want to be friends with this person.
The same applies to your celebrant. On your wedding day, you want to see a friendly face standing there ready to guide you, make you laugh and give you the comfort you need to make this day exceptional. You want your audience to feel like this celebrant knows YOU personally. They know that your childhood pet was your best friend growing up and that horrible haircut you gave yourself nearly cost you primary school social status. They know you for you and they’re able to reflect that in your ceremony.
Do they provide a clear timeline of what this process looks like?
Your dream celebrant is up front. They’re transparent and informative on what it’s really going to take to get the ball rolling. They give you all the information you didn’t know you needed so that when you leave that conversation, you’re pretty much an expert on how to do this wedding thing.
Are they the real deal?
Your celebrant needs to be a whole lot of LEGIT. They might be able to talk the talk but can they walk the walk? Check that your celebrant is qualified according to the Attorney General’s Office and also consider doing a little bit of research on what it takes to have a recognised Australian marriage.
All in all, knowledge is power, my friends. Love is also power. Together let’s create something magical!
Claudia Neal-Shaw is a Sydney based Civil Celebrant inspiring romance and sparkle Australia wide.
As a qualified lawyer, marketing wizard and confident public speaker, Claudia has what it takes to turn your wedding ceremony dreams into a reality.