What You Should Look For In A Good Marriage Celebrant

What You Should Look For In A Good Marriage Celebrant

If you’ve never heard of a marriage celebrant before, then don’t worry.  It can be a little confusing at first, but the best way to explain what a marriage celebrant is would be someone who is able to perform at and officiate different formal ceremonies.

The majority of the time they’ll be observed at weddings, but they’re also able to carry out ceremonies such as the following:

• Vow renewals
• Baby naming’s
• Funeral rites

Celebrants also aren’t members of the clergy such as priests would be. Priests are bound by the customs of their faith while celebrants have more versatility in terms of what they can do. They can put together a wedding according to whatever requirements a couple wants, work within various themes and different concepts.

How do you find a good one though, because not all wedding celebrants are created equal? Well there are a few general guidelines you can follow.

Getting to know you and your partner

Firstly, you don’t want someone who isn’t going to take the time to get to know not only you, but also your marriage partner. You would want them to take the time to understand your entire relationship if possible and how it arrived at the point it is now.

Understanding laws and contributing

A good celebrant needs to be aware of the various regulations and laws concerning what they do as it relates to the country they’re in. Any resources or interjections they could add in order to help your cause would also be appreciated.

A willingness to listen

No matter how experienced a celebrant might be, you wouldn’t want them to come off like they were trying to dominate any exchange you had with them. You’d need someone who was open to listening to you and learning about any ideas you have. You’d want someone who isn’t rigid, who radiates reassurance, can relate to you in certain ways and above all else is authentic.

A willingness to ask questions

Going back to the original point made, a celebrant needs to have the willingness to get to know you. One of the main ways this happens is by them being comfortable enough to ask you and your partner questions regarding your relationship. The goal is to see how strong it is, but also what type of plans and aspirations you have as you move forward.

A good celebrant should want to ask questions about your family and friends regarding how important they are to you in your lives. Even asking questions regarding your proposal should be asked as well as questions centered on what each person appreciates about the other and why they feel marriage is a good next step for them.

How presentable is the wedding celebrant?

When we use the phrase “presentable” we’re referring to several factors, not simply how they present themselves to you in a professional sense when you meet them. We’re talking about how presentable they are across the board. For instance, do they have a website you can go to and visit? Here you’d be able to get a nice look at things and see if it’s up to par.

Are they able to offer you some examples of past work for you to look at? Do they come off as being well organized or do they seem a little all over the place? Are they able to communicate with you and your partner in a way where it really connects? Do they have a personality that you like and feel like it vibes with what you and your partner want? Do they have reviews from past couples regarding their work and if so do the reviews do a good job of highlighting what they can do?

 A willingness to work with other important professionals at your wedding

It’s not going to do much good if you hire a wedding celebrant that’s stubborn as far as working with other important professionals associated with your wedding are concerned. You need to know that they’re able to coexist with the people you need them to coexist with in order for the arrangement to truly work.

For example, if you’re getting married then there will be other professionals you’ve spoken to, such as a photographer. You will have invested a lot of time and money in this case. You would need to feel confident that any celebrant you hired wasn’t going to get in their way. The ceremony only lasts for a short period of time, but the pictures that get taken recreate the entire wedding experience.

Because of this you’d want to ensure nothing was done to make the photographers job hard, but at the same time you’d want your celebrant to be able to work with them in order to ensure certain important aspects of your wedding were captured. The main goal here is for everyone to be able to work together to create the best overall wedding experience for you and your partner.

Someone who isn’t hard to reach when you need them

Getting married is an exciting time in a couple’s life. It’s a time where both parties are looking forward to making a commitment, but at the same time there are going to be times where stress sets in. If this is the first time getting married for both people, then the nerve factor can be even more serious. In these cases having easy access to someone who can help keep things in perspective will go a long way.

And this is something a wedding celebrant should be able to provide. You want easy accessibility, someone who isn’t hard to get in contact with either by email or through the phone. Any time you need to contact them not only should they be ready for you, but they should be ready to provide you with whatever expertise or advice they can offer in order to keep both parties relaxed and reassured.

If there’s one main thing you should take away from this above anything else, then it would be choosing a celebrant that truly loves what they do and will serve as a good guide.