a celebrant or a monkey? are you paying peanuts

taken from wedbykez.com



Talking to a fellow celebrant over coffee on Friday we both discovered a trait of all brides when contacting a celebrant for the first time. The first question every bride wants to know straight up is "how much do you cost?"

I feel like I should be answering in a split personality here, as a celebrant and as a frugal bride-to-be whose been wearing holes in my heels finding bargains across Newcastle.

With the bride hat on I have to tell you that the price is never far from your mind - whether booking your venue, your florist, your manicurist or your celebrant. I mean, add up all the costs and you could magic away your credit card debt and still have enough for a major shopping revelation!

But it does amaze me how couples will allocate large amounts of money to ensure the have the best food, the dream dress, an amazing photographer, the perfect venue and yet when it comes to booking the person who will marry them they decide to save some coin and shop around for the cheapest.

There is no regulatory body to govern what a celebrant charges for a ceremony, unfortuately. However, I'd like to think that most celebrants are basing their charges on the service they offer.

A cheap celebrant may not give you the time or attention you need to create your perfect ceremony, a more expensive celebrant SHOULD be giving you as much attention as you want. The more popular celebrants also charge more due to demand or the number of wedding they conduct a day.

Most celebrants won't just quote you a price over the phone because they don't know anything about the kind of wedding you want. Meet with them, have them show you what they can do and then decide if what they charge is reasonable.

If you fall in love with a celebrant don't be shy to ask about ways in which to reduce the fees. Do they charge for the rehearsal, travel and ways around this.. or can you pick from a selection of pre-prepared ceremonies rather than have a new one written.

You will remember the person who married you, make sure they are worth being remembered.