I follow many wedding chat groups and often I see couples posting about the prices of celebrants, and in particular the variation between prices. I have thought the very same thing on multiple occasions.. What separates a budget celebrant from an ‘expensive’ one? I would like to take a moment to respond from a celebrant’s point of view, detailing more about the role of a celebrant and the time placed into each and every ceremony we perform and how we justify the fees charged.
May I just start by saying that the fee for a traditional Saturday wedding of a QLD Registry Office ceremony is currently $400* and that stretches to $530* for an evening wedding or at an unconventional time. In NSW that fee is even higher, starting at just over $500. Many of us celebrants use this as a base rate for our fees, as the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM) obviously determine this as an appropriate base ‘cost’ for our occupation (and it is an occupation).
For civil celebrants it is not just handing you a legal certificate or a ‘one hour gig’ at the wedding ceremony, its supporting clients on a journey and there are many hours of work involved.
Unlike Registry Ceremonies, celebrants generally arrange for meetings (often hours of time) getting to know their clients and supporting them through the process. We arrange follow up meetings or spend copious hours working through ceremonies, researching new ideas/trends to make your ceremony unique, and making calls creating the perfect ceremony. Most offer a rehearsal as part of that fee. On the day of your wedding we travel, using our own cars and petrol (often incurring parking fees/tolls) to get to your ceremony. We also arrange to get to your venue early to ensure all of the details of your day are perfect for you and as we discussed prior. Again, in comparison to Registry Offices that process many marriages through a day, we offer a personalized service, often only doing one (my personal commitment) or a couple of ceremonies a weekend.
Other suppliers on your day are often fleeting, but it is hoped that your celebrant is your one familiar face on the day, supporting your, guiding you and laughing with you as you journey to becoming husband and wife.
In addition to these visible jobs/expenses you see there are hidden fees celebrants face that you don’t. Like our annual registration fees, compulsory annual PD day to keep current with our legal requirements, costs for our stationary (marriage certificates, registry books etc), taxes… not to mention our maintenance of equipment (PA systems), insurances or association fees as well as advertising, websites, brochures, expo’s. There are so many other hidden fees that we just suck up … because yes… we love, LOVE!
Now where do I sit on this spectrum of expenses? … I am a moderate priced celebrant, I sit somewhere in the grey area in between. I strive to stay competitively priced offering great value for money, but also maintaining the ability to generate a decent wage to support my family and earn a living from being a celebrant.
Ultimately it’s a matter of what parts of a wedding you value most, and what is manageable within your budget. Personally, I think you should choose your celebrant primarily based on a connection to your chosen celebrant rather than a price (assuming that connection matches your price restrictions).
I don’t judge those who charge more than me, as they are obviously there for a set market, and well…. there are lots of couples out there that will pay for their services, so bigger fool to me. Look at those that charge ‘more’, and question … What is making that fee higher than others?
- Do they have a huge advertising campaign behind them?
- Do they promote themselves in the media?
- Is there excessive travel required?
- What are they providing for that fee?
- What other overheads do they have?
- Is it only weddings they perform? Or do they have other ceremonies (funerals, namings etc) that support their earnings?
- Is this their sole occupation and therefore are they a full time career celebrant? If so consider how much you would want to be paid by the hour for your profession as there are many hours that go into a ceremony.
Consider this, without a celebrant performing your civil marriage; your union could not be made legal. For a Lawyer to complete other legal paperwork you would be looking at a minimum of $350 an hour – look at the value you are getting from a celebrant and with a bucket load more time, love and commitment placed into each client! Afterall, as Warren Buffett once appropriately said “price is what you pay, value is what you get”; with a good celebrant, this is indeed the case.
As a final note, I will just say, please be considerate to us celebrants.. often we are the ones who have worked to fit within your budget to be sometimes told at meetings that our couples have limited money left for our services having spent hundreds more than our fees on ring bearing owls, cars that drive from A-B, ceremony venues (chapel hire fees), a dress that is worn once and left to collect dust (aka.. mine in the wardrobe!) and the list goes on. Let’s face it a civil wedding without a celebrant is just a very expensive party. I don’t say that to be rude, everyone has the right to choose what they value….but just maybe keep that information to yourself when you meet your celebrant! 😉
Hope that helps clarify our fees for some.. If you would like to enquire more about my services or current fees, please send me a message via the contacts page and I would be happy to send you more information.
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* Prices current at Feb 2016.
** Parts of this blog post were originally from my response on a local chat group when a bride-to-be questioned why low cost celebrant recommendations were often requested. My response generated quite a resounding amount of attention so I thought it worthy of sharing.
Please note; this response is indicative of my business and may not be universal around the celebrant industry.
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