How to choose your celebrant like you’d choose a car
Categories: | Celebrant |
Let’s face it,
just as any car can get you from point A to point B, any
authorised celebrant can get you legally married. But it
is not as simple as that. Just as the car you choose not
only has to fit your budget but also be fit for purpose,
so does your celebrant. No-one just rings up a selection
of dealerships and asks “How much do you charge for a
car?”So, you're in the market for a vehicle. You have already done the preliminary decision-making about what type of driving you plan to do, city, country, off-road adventures, or just an occasional tootle down to the shops with the odd weekend highway driving up or down the coast. So you start looking at that type of vehicle. You check out several different makes and models. You work through their features. You check out reviews. You narrow the field until you find the vehicle that meets your needs within your price range. And you don’t expect to get a Ferrari when you order and are paying for a Ford. Nor do you expect to pay for a Ferrari and find what you’ve got is a Ferrari body with a Ford interior and engine!
So, here’s the thing. Whatever anyone tells you, feeling a connection with your celebrant is the factor that should seal the deal, not be the primary decision-point. Anyone who has bought a car purely because it came in their favourite colour would tell you that.
Every authorised marriage celebrant in Australia is legally required to work to the requirements of the Marriage Act. Every authorised celebrant is therefore able to solemnise your marriage and, by so doing, to make a huge change to your legal status. By the end of the ceremony you will have moved from Point A (not married) to Point B (married). Some celebrants are able to require of you things that others are not legally permitted to. For example, a civil celebrant can't require you to include religious content, a minister of the religion definitely can. An authorised marriage celebrant is not allowed to discriminate on grounds of personal belief, a religious marriage celebrant is - so can refuse to marry you if you are divorced or if you are a same sex couple. For the rest, whether the ride is smooth and enjoyable comes down to whether you’ve chosen a celebrant who provides the type of service you want, provides a ceremony that reflects your personalities and the style of your wedding, offers the inclusions you expect, and charges a fair fee that reflects the amount of work put into creating your ceremony.
Thanks for reading!
