Could I or Should I be a Marriage Celebrant

[TaRhLi.]

O.K, so I still looking at ways to earn some extra income and have thought that maybe I could do a course to be a Marriage Celebrant.

I'm looking into the course details at the moment and DH is very supportive of me doing some study to get a qualification and of course being a Marriage Celebrant means that I do all the paperwork stuff working from home and a large majority of ceremonies are on weekends as well so no need to worry about childcare.

So to give me an idea if this is a good idea are you able to let me know if when you got married or if you are planning on getting married did you/are you using a celebrant and if so what did/are they charging you and what services are they providing to you. Also would it worry you to have a younger celebrant performing your ceremony, it appears that a lot of celebrants are more 'elderly' but I'm 39 so would that make you more likely to want me to do your ceremony for you or not...

Thanks

[melbel]

Great idea....just keep in mind they have a sort of quota type system and even though you do the course you won't become fully certified and able to do marriages until a spot becomes available. I know my friend waited about 18-24 months after completing the course before she was accepted as a full member and able to do marriages.....she could do funerals, naming days, committment ceremonies etc just not proper marriages until she became accepted as a full member, apparently it is a bit of a closed club type thing.....

[Caz_88]

We are paying $570 for ours this August. He is a sought after celebrant on the Sunshine Coast. He is doing all our legals, NOIM and marriage cert etc, we will have several ceremony planning meetings, going over things etc. He provides his own discrete microphone and amplifier, does a practice the week of, if we feel like it, and organises everyone on the day and gives them a run through of what is going to happen. He also does the entry/exit music if you want, but we have hired a DJ to do everything sound related on the day.
39 is not too young at all! I think that is a great age, young enough not to seem like an oldie but also not too young to think that you have no idea.

I've heard it is hard work though, and takes alot of experience to build up a good client base and be sought after. Maybe you could find a good, highly sought after celebrant in your area and offer to be a free assistant one day a week or something? Just to get some exposure as to what it really involves.

I think go for it! What a lovely career option, you get to be involved in what is one of lifes biggest moments for these people, so full of joy and happiness..... who wouldnt like that feeling

[peanutter]

also, make sure you check out not only what the cost is to get your licence, but also what the annual cost is to maintain the licence.

then figure out what you can charge, what time would be involved in doing that, how much you'll spend (advertising, travel, lodging any paperwork, renting anything you may need for ceremonies, getting your accounts done if you don't do them yourself, tax, etc) and decide whether it's worth it.

I'd be interested in what you decide! I know someone who started looking into this ages ago, but I'm not sure whether they pursued it in the end ...

[TaRhLi.]

Just an update....

I have commenced my course to become a Marriage Celebrant, it is a 4 mth course via correspondance with 2 weekend workshops. Once I have finished I then have to submit an application to the Attorney General's office to be approved which takes about 3 months.

Also as it is government approved training (Certificate IV in Marriage Celebrancy) I've been eligible for a government subsidy on the fees as I'm increasing my skills - I only went to year 10 in school but had 20yrs on the job training in the banking/finance industry.

There is no licence to maintain once I am fully registered all I have to do is do referesher courses to keep up to date with an legislative changes that occur.

Apart from that a lot of the costs associated are factored into the fees you charge to do the ceremonies and this is completed as part of the course. So with any luck I'll be a fully certified Marriage Celebrant by the end of the year but I will be able to do naming days, vowel renewals and funerals (anything that isn't a legal process) if I want while I'm waiting to be ceritified.

[Rowellen]

Congrats on starting your course. We had an elderly woman do our wedding but friends have had younger celebrants. I think it's a great idea for making extra money. Good luck!