My
Celebrant Fees Explained
Price alone will give you very little information about
the other things that matter. You need more information!
My celebrant fees reflect the value of my services,
together with the time, care, experience, and energy
that I put into creating, preparing, and officiating
your ceremony, together with the flexibility I offer in
terms of where and when you hold the ceremony. They also
reflect the efficiency of my work practices. I do not
charge you for time I don't need to spend!
The
Australian Government expects me to operate as a
business
Authorised marriage celebrants are appointed by the
Australian Government to solemnise civil weddings on
behalf of the government. However, we are not government
employees. We are required to be independent business
persons, and therefore I am subject to all of the same
costs that apply to any small business in Australia, in
addition to which I am required to
- Pay an annual fee to the Attorney General's
Department
- Supply and pay for all official stationery (yes,
even the certificate I am required to give you on
the day, the one with the Australian Coat of Arms on
the top), together with the Happily Every Before
... And After information leaflet which
I am also required to give marrying couples.
Any celebrant who doesn't cover
expenses will go out of business
- and this could happen at a time that is most
inconvenient to you.
How do you know that you have chosen your celebrant well
and have confidence that you will be getting the
ceremony and the level of service you want, the fee
value for money as well a good fit for your budget?
Check out
- the experience, knowledge, and skill of the
celebrant
- the style and tone of the ceremony
- whether it will be a unique ceremony
custom-created for you or a boiler-plate standard
ceremony into which the celebrant just inserts your
names, or something in between
- whether the ceremony will set the tone for your
wedding or be merely something to endure and get
through
- whether GST is payable
Celebrants
do not all offer the same level of service or have
the same experience and expertise
There are some very strong differences that separate the
services I provide you from those you may experience
elsewhere
- I take time to explore with you all of the
magnificent options there are to make your ceremony
uniquely you. The Best. Ceremony. Ever. Not just the
standard traditions with a teeny tweak. I go way
beyond giving you a list of what should be included.
Instead, I make sure we are on the same page with
what has to be included (by law), and therefore what
you can leave out, ignore, or change, as well as
countless wonderful ways of doing that.
- I make sure you understand that the average
wedding ceremony, for example, is still based on
mediaeval religious rituals, and why there is so
much room for doing it so much better in line with
the lives we live in the 21st century
- I remove the guess work from both meeting the
legal requirements for your ceremony (even some of
the non-legal ceremonies have legal requirements,
specifically what you must not do, rather than what
you must)
- I use very effective processes to gather
information from you as to what you want in your
ceremony - which you do in your own time, not at a
pressured meeting.
- Because I'm a skilled researcher, if I don't have
the answer, I can find it quickly.
Inclusions: What You Get for
Your Payment to Me
I offer a range of packages depending on the type and
style of ceremony you engage me to create and perform
for you. Flexible payment plans are available for all
packages.
Regardless of which package or which type of ceremony
you book, you will receive
- the services of a full time, professional,
skilled, and experienced celebrant who has all the
bases covered and is committed to working as part of
the team with your other wedding vendors
- superior service
- great value for money
- comprehensive legal, ceremonial, and cultural
knowledge
- an individually created ceremony that includes
uniquely creative additions and methods of carrying
out the various traditional parts of the ceremony
that are exclusive to me
- unlimited number of revisions to the ceremony
- your total control over the final draft of the
ceremony
- peace of mind, knowing exactly what I'm going to
say on the day
- arrival at the venue in plenty of time to set up
and liaise with other vendors, including your
photographer, videographer, and music people
- a ceremony with lots of Instagrammable moments
- polished, professional, but relaxed and
entertaining performance of the ceremony that keeps
your guests engaged
- (for a wedding) a rehearsal either at my office or
at the venue - at least an hour and longer if
necessary.
- (for a wedding) prompt and efficient submission of
your marriage details for registration of your
marriage
The fee for all packages covers:
- Reservation of your ceremony date and time.
This includes a generous amount of time both before
and after your ceremony start time to allow for
travel, setting up, and packing up.
- The legal service (for Weddings) –
knowledge and service provided, including tasks
carried out in compliance with the requirements of
the Marriage Act, 1961.
- The ceremonial service – creating and
performing of a unique ceremony developed just for
you
- The skills, knowledge, and experience that
underlie the service I provide to you. These are at
your disposal in the form of information and advice
provided to you, and in creation and performance of
your ceremony.
- My time – as with any 'performance', what
you and your guests see on the day is just the tip
of the iceberg. On top of the hour or more spent at
the venue on the day, setting up, performing the
ceremony, and packing up afterwards, many, many
hours go into writing, editing and refining the
ceremony, communicating with you, preparing and
printing certificates, reading and keepsake copies,
and traveling to and from the ceremony venue. And of
course, it is also the value I bring to the time I
spend with you, and on your ceremony.
- Administration and record keeping
- Provision and maintenance of the business
infrastructure and which enables me to
provide you with the service you have booked, and
which assisted you in finding and choosing me as
your celebrant.
- My use of a quality PA during the ceremony
(no extra fees for this!)
- Travel to your venue up to 50 km from my office
(above that excess travel fees apply)
Summary
of my fees
For information and a quote about
other types of ceremony, please contact me.