Confusion Around Marriage Celebrants

There can be a lot of confusion when it comes to how much you will pay for your Marriage Celebrant for your wedding. 😕

When couples are estimating their wedding budget, they may receive a variety of quotes.

In 2019, the average price of a Marriage Celebrant in Australia was $721. In 2021 it had dropped to $698.

You may ask – does the price you pay reflect the quality of the service you receive.

I would answer Generally not.  Let me explain.  Charges by celebrants are often made on estimates of the hours taken to complete your wedding.

• Some celebrants may be very slow at preparing your documents.
• Some celebrants may be inexperienced in writing ceremonies.
• Some celebrants may have to do multiple rounds of changes before a bride and groom are happy.
• Some celebrants may have to spend hours practicing your ceremony to be comfortable.
• Some celebrants may travel long distances to arrive at your venue.

These celebrants may charge you substantially more than a celebrant who:-

• Completes your documents efficiently
• Gets to know you as the bride and groom and what feeling you would like for your marriage ceremony so can tailor your ceremony easily with little or no changes.
• Are proficient speakers
• Focus on locations for ceremonies which don’t involve a lot of travelling

What Does a Marriage Celebrant Do?

• No matter how much your Celebrant charges you, they will have to ensure that you have completed your Notice of Intended Marriage.
• Your Celebrant must be satisfied that you are legally able to marry and that you have provided documentation to prove who you are.
• Your Celebrant must prepare your marriage documentation and witness your signatures on your Declaration of No Legal Impediment.
• During your marriage Ceremony your celebrant must say certain legal phrases as prescribed by law and ensure that you have said your legal marriage vows and have your Marriage Certificate signed and witnessed.
• Your Celebrant must lodge your Notice of Intended Marriage, your Declaration and your Marriage Certificate with the Department of Births, Deaths and Marriages within 14 days of your wedding.

Add to that- meetings, telephone calls, answering emails, preparing your marriage ceremony travel to your location.  Professional presentation and more and you can begin to understand the variation of pricing as different Celebrants offer different levels of service.

Marriage Celebrants in Australia

One thing to remember is that In Australia all Marriage Celebrants must be professionally trained and they must be authorised by the Attorney General of Australia.

It is a requirement that all Celebrants must complete Ongoing Professional Development every year to keep up to date.

But not all Celebrants are the same.  Celebrants all have different skill sets and experiences that we use when we are marrying couples.  And couples require different levels of service from their Celebrants.

What Ceremony is Right for You?

Every couple is different and how they want to celebrate varies.  The legal part of a marriage ceremony takes around 1 minute.

If all you want to do is have the legal wording said, you are able to go to your celebrant’s office with your witnesses and have the legal wording and sign your marriage documents.

This is the cheapest form of wedding, but generally couples want more.

Everything that is added is personal and tailored to suit you – this is where you will start to have variations in pricing.

A lot of couples want simple weddings, a small amount of personalization and may have a reading or 2. You may do this at your home, park or venue of your choice and your celebrant will come to you.

This is tailored around you both, and includes the special people in your life when you want.

Some couples want a Bespoke ceremony. This ceremony is completely tailored to you.  It will cost the most because there is a large investment of time in the preparation.

You are the focus of the entire script written for your marriage ceremony.  It is tailored around celebrating you both the way you would like.  Sharing your complete story, including ceremonies and readings and involving special people that you would like to include.

These are the ceremonies where you will enjoy sharing moments of your love story with your guests.  You will need to share a lot of information with your celebrant including stories about your relationship and your lives.

When you are asking for quotes it is important that your celebrant understands the style of ceremony you want to have so they can give you an accurate quote.

In the 2019 Wedding Industry Survey it was discovered that:-

• Couples liked their Celebrant having a genuine interest in them and their story
• Couples also liked being walked through the process step by step and helped calm nerves
• Couples liked to have personalised references that were meaningful to them included in their ceremony

How do you know what the right style of ceremony is for you?

There is an easy way to make a decision about the right style of ceremony to have.  Learn more about having your marriage ceremony the way you want at the best price.

Marriage Ceremony Services