Choosing a Celebrant

Remember this story in the Courier Mail?

‘Shonky Wedding Celebrants Just Take The Cake’ April 1, 2012, which recounted horror stories about celebrant behaviour at weddings.

Let us refresh your memories:

The limousines have delivered the happy couple, the flowers are in place "just so'', the VIP guests are seated and the venue is a picture of understatement and class.

Then the celebrant arrives in a low-cut top with bursting cleavage and the blushing bride is joined by a blushing groom as those expensive wedding photographs record the disaster for all time.

Like a Rowan Atkinson skit, couples are being left fuming as bumbling celebrants spoil their special day with gaffes to rival the old classic: "Do you take this bride to be your awful wedded wife?''

Celebrants who tried to crack on to the bride, shouted at guests, hit the booze or just failed to turn up have driven couples to fire off dozens of complaints to the federal Attorney-General's department over the past five years.

"I just wanted to say I think you're cute,'' one celebrant told a shocked bride at rehearsals.

Complaints obtained under Freedom of Information laws revealed celebrants also ran off with deposits, misspelled names on certificates or failed to lodge documents - in some cases rendering marriages invalid or leaving no trace of weddings at all. Even the most expensive and meticulously planned celebrations were not immune as celebrants mumbled through ceremonies, mispronounced names, forgot to ask couples to say "I do'' or missed the wedding kiss.

The number of registered civil celebrants has more than tripled to about 10,300 in the past eight years and operators warn of a rise in shonks.

"There are so many celebrants now that the average celebrant is doing five weddings a year. They are not going to get the experience they need to improve,'' said Alliance of Celebrants Queensland president Caroline Jackson.

"It's important you feel comfortable with the celebrant, don't go on price alone.

"A lot of celebrants out there are doing it as a weekend hobby, they charge very little and basically you get what you pay for.''

If complaints are substantiated celebrants can be suspended or deregistered, cautioned or ordered to undertake additional professional development. In cases examined by The Sunday Mail celebrants often escaped with a caution or were asked to apologise or pay back fees.

Some had not completed mandatory training for five years, exposing flaws in monitoring

Story by David Murray
Source: Courier Mail

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

As a celebrant these accounts are difficult to read, but in some cases, sadly true. The one thing that is particularly upsetting though is that for those of us who work our butts off to create a fantastic day for our clients, we are lumped in and made to look as bad as the few the Courier speak of.

As a trainer of Ongoing Professional Development for Celebrants I have the opportunity to work with many hard working, dedicated and knowledgeable celebrants who attend their 5 hours of training every year and come motivated and full of ideas for contribution.

On the whole being a celebrant is not a particularly lucrative endeavour and so for the most part the ones who go through the training and spend their hard earned money to get set up are there because they really want to be.

Of course there are ‘shonks’ as the Courier puts it, as there are in every industry, but word gets around pretty fast in the world of weddings and for those who do the things mentioned above, it doesn’t take long before they are known and no longer in business.

For couples looking to find a good celebrant, one that is right for them, good research is the answer. Like with anything in our society you often get what you pay for, so choosing the cheapest celebrant around may not always be in your best interest. Most celebrants charge a reasonable amount for the work that they do so if you find one that is charging much less than others you may want to look a little closer at what they are offering.

If you are looking for some great advice about how to choose the right celebrant for you, don’t miss our upcoming post on ‘Finding The Right Celebrant’, full of great ideas and strategies to ensure that the person guiding you and leading you through on one of the most important moments of your life is the right one. Keep a look out for it, coming soon.

Susan x

Week 6 - Traditional Smoking Ceremony

Welcome to week 6 of our '52 Traditions / Rituals in 52 weeks' this week we are bringing to you a 'Traditional Smoking Ceremony'. 


Indigenous Australian culture and its people are rich in ceremonial tradition and spiritual connection to their land. It is their spiritual connection to this land as ‘Mother’ that makes their ceremonies, rituals and traditions so absolutely spellbinding and magnificent. It is the perfect ritual to incorporate into a wedding ceremony.

A traditional ‘Smoking’ involves bringing together various native plants either in a fire or using a smudge stick and smoldering them to produce smoke. It is believed among indigenous Australians, that this smoke has cleansing and healing properties and also has the added ability to ward off any bad spirits that may be lurking around. Although performed at many events including building openings, births and deaths, it is a wonderful way of beginning a wedding ceremony, allowing the couple to go into the marriage feeling cleansed and free, with no bad spirits to bring them bad luck.

I (Susan) was lucky enough to see a ‘Smoking’ ceremony performed by an Aboriginal celebrant from the Northern Territory at a celebrant conference here in Adelaide a few years ago and its power was amazing. I immediately fell in love with the symbolism behind the ritual and its wonderful cleansing power.

There are a few options for conducting a smoking ritual as part of a wedding ceremony, however as many of us live in the city it can be difficult to find an adequate place to light a fire and we may need to consider an alternative.

Firstly, a ‘Smoking’ may be conducted by placing the chosen leaves on a small fire perhaps in a fire resistant trough or bowl and then allowing the smoke to cover the bride and groom and the other participants’ bodies, ridding them of what is not needed. The smoke can then be fanned around the area with the intention of also cleansing it before the marriage takes place.

The couple and their guests may feel a sense of leaving behind any troubles and beginning something new and the couple may like the Celebrant to say a few words about the significance of the smoking. There is no specific wording, but it is important to ask the couple what it means to them.

Another option is using a ‘Smudge stick’ (pictured left) which is a bundle of dried herbs, (quite often white sage and incorporating some other herbs or spices such as lavender and juniper, which give a pleasant odour when burnt). These are then bound into a small bundle with string and dried to later be used for the wedding ceremony. The ‘Smoking’ is conducted in much the same way as outlined above, however the celebrant may walk around the area spreading the smoke and wave the stick around the couple in order to cover them. Again the couple may like the celebrant to say a few words about the significance.

Conducting a traditional ‘Smoking’ is a great way of incorporating ritual in ceremony and regardless of your background or heritage, it’s significance crosses all boundaries of race or religion. If you are conducting a wedding ceremony in Australia or you are a bride or groom considering using a smoking as part of your ceremony, you may also like to begin the ceremony by paying tribute to the traditional owners of the land you are standing on. What a great way to enter your married life, with good luck, health and a clean slate. Only good can come of it!

Note: Smudge sticks can usually be purchased from stores that supply religious or ceremonial items or they can be made easily using fresh herbs. There are lots of instructional videos available on the internet.


The Wedding Gurus

Week 1: Cup of Life Ceremony

Welcome to week 1 of our '52 traditions / rituals in 52 week' we are so excited to be bringing this to you and what a great way to start with the 'cup of life ceremony' brought to you by our resident celebrant blogger Susan.

We sincerely hope you enjoy the video dont forget to follow our blog so you can enjoy the fun, inspiring and informative information the next 53 weeks has to bring! If you have any questions or would like us to post any of the wording then please leave a comment and we will do our very best to get back to you within 24hours. Enjoy!