An experienced celebrant will make all the difference on your wedding day!

With so many decisions to make leading up to your wedding and figuring out where best to allocate your budget, we here at Northern Beaches Weddings & Events have 1 big piece of advice, always choose an experienced celebrant. 

We believe we have some of the best and most supportive on the beaches and the importance of their role is not only get you married, but to ensure everything leading up to and after is all in place. It is not as simple as you may think, to fully understand the ins and outs of exactly what an experienced celebrant does and why spending a little more will get you someone who will go above and beyond, we have asked our celebrants to give us some great insights into their work and what is involved:

The decision to marry is a legal obligation between two people for the rest of your lives. Therefore, the Celebrant you choose is one of the most important parts of your day – without them it’s just a big expensive party. So you really need to connect with your Celebrant and choose someone with experience, who, if needed, can sort out any problems that may arise along the way with care and accuracy.

Please take into consideration why a Celebrant charges what they do.

• There are many hours spent on each wedding – My average office time spent is 10+ hours.
• There are face to face meetings, emails, phone calls, rehearsals, and the completion of all legal documentation. There are so many hours of preparation before the wedding has even taken place.
• Your marriage has to be lodged and registered with the Births Deaths and Marriages and as an experienced Online Celebrant I am able to attend to both these processes the same day.
• There is a yearly fee to retain our Registration Number, otherwise we will be deregistered.
• There is a yearly fee to attend Ongoing Professional Development, which if not completed, we will be deregistered.
• There is the purchase from the Government of all legal documents and certificates.
• We are required to arrive at least ½ hour before the commencement of the ceremony.
• There are travel/parking costs to consider.
• And that’s not all – We all have different expenses to consider depending on location, time, travel etc.

What does a Professional Celebrant do?

• Attends to all legal documentation both before and after the wedding, ensuring all legal requirements are met including lodging and registering your marriage.
• Will be fully insured with Professional Indemnity/Public Liability Insurance.
• Will provide a good quality PA system with music facility (For larger weddings).
• Will provide you with my Ceremony Guide to help you choose your style of and will work with you to create a ceremony of your choice. (Excluding Legals Only Ceremonies)

The cheapest option may not necessarily be the best option
To give you an idea of costs, NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages charge between around $450 – $600.00 depending on the day and location, which is a quick ceremony in one of their venues and you are allocated a time which you must adhere to.  This option suits some people which is fine, but when you are planning a celebration with your family and friends, you need someone that will work with you to create a special lifetime memory, someone who will deliver a service in the style you want, someone who is experienced, well presented and above all, well respected in the industry.

So after all of that, depending on the Celebrant you choose and what they are charging, Celebrants are usually the cheapest part of the wedding day, yet without us you’re not legally married.

Below we hear a little more from 2 of our Northern Beaches  celebrants Lou Spedding and Danielle DuBois. Both are highly recommended and come with a wealth of knowledge and experience that you just can’t put a value on when it comes to your special day and marriage!