Booking Perfect Wedding Celebrants
They can handle unexpected situations like a Zen Monk with reactions like a ninja.
Kat Sillars - All Smiles Sorrento
Finding a great wedding celebrant you both connect with personally is essential for a beautiful ceremony. Out of all the wedding vendors, the celebrant's actual work time is by far the shortest, but also one of the most important.
As a wedding photographer and videographer, I've seen many wedding celebrants in action over the years and am glad to say most in the Melbourne area do a fantastic job. I've seen a few bomb out and do a disastrous job too, but that it's a rare occurrence. What is really memorable is the ceremonies where the celebrant and couple are vibing together through the joyful, serious, funny, and spiritual moments that unfold during the event.
Witnessing that happen is always awesome, so here are my two cents worth on how to find that magical person who is just right for the job of marrying you, wild-hearted souls.
Take your time to research and find a celebrant who draws you in online. Scroll through those IG feeds and see what they write about their clients. Scroll through heaps of wedding videographer highlights to get a glimpse of how they present themselves and what their voice sounds like. When they speak, do they sound confident, do they sound soulful and sincere, and do you feel some sort of familiarity already? When you have a shortlist of potential celebrants, send an email and set up a zoom call. After a chat with a collection of potential celebrants, you will likely find your wedding officiant.
You should like your celebrant and I mean a lot. If you adore or love them even better! After all, they are guiding you through one of the most significant occasions of your life. You are trusting them to execute an important task. They are also in total control of the ceremony before you even get there.
A professional celebrant arrives early and sets the mood as they welcome your guests. They work with the venue staff or your wedding planner to decide when the guests should be seated so the ceremony starts on time. My favorite wedding celebrants carry themselves with warmth and grace and deliver the ceremony in a natural way. They roll with the laughs when the ring won't easily slip onto the groom's finger and can be effortlessly formal in the serious parts of the ceremony. They can handle all the unexpected situations that can happen during a wedding with the calmness of a Zen monk and quick reactions like a ninja.
Don't underestimate how important your celebrant is when it comes to the fond memories of your wedding day. It is natural to focus on the dress, flowers, food, and decorations first because those things are exciting, but also put a high priority on finding the celebrant as soon as your date is set. The best wedding celebrants (and wedding videographers) are booked way in advance, so you don't want to miss out.
As you can guess, I'm a wedding photographer who is passionate about couples having a wonderful celebrant. If you would like to be connected to some of the best in Melbourne and beyond, feel free to ask. Matching couples and celebrants might just be one of my secret superpowers!
