Words to an aspirational celebrant
I met one of my neighbours this morning and he mentioned he was becoming a celebrant soon so he could marry two friends who are getting married soon. I gave him the spiel I give anyone and everyone becoming a new celebrant, but I thought it’d be something worth putting down in a blog post, and hopefully if you’re a hopefully future celebrant then this can be an encouragement to you too.
How to video chat really well
Video chat, video conferencing, Skyping, Facetiming, or now, Zooming, is going to be a fairly major way we communicate through this season and into the future. The problem is, I see lots of people on Zoom calls not bringing their A-game to the call. The reason presenting yourself well on a video call matters is because in that online video chat environment we’ve already lost a few of our primary senses from the human interaction, smell, taste, and touch. That leaves our sight and hearing. In the same way that someone without hearing or sight will say that their other senses are heightened, in a video call, we’re missing the hug we might have started the interaction with. We haven’t had a chance to buy each other a drink, or shake hands, or simply see our smiles and smell our perfume, and feel at home together. So let’s make the visual and the audible sensory experience as good as our tools and technology allows us to.
What it means when they say that weddings are coming back
There’s a lot of talk about weddings coming back as COVID-19 restrictions are eased. This is not an article about when and what restrictions are being eased, but a reminder as to how Australia works and how to know if weddings are a) allowed or legal, b) when they’re allowed, c) what will be allowed.
This article does remind you though how Australian governance works. You see, Australia as a nation is a lovely idea, but really, you live in a state. That state, be it Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, or a constant state of joy, has made a number of decisions as to how certain things are governed. Many things are a state business, and they have then handed many things on to the [Commonwealth of Australia] for their governance. This article is an oversimplification of a complex structure, so please don’t quote me anywhere.
Baby Got Backend
Morgan Roberts invited me onto his podcast to talk about the back ends of a business. Systems, Tave, Dubsado, all that really boring and important stuff. It’s worth a listen if automation is a scary word to...When a bushfire ravages a land
I drove through a recently bushfire affected region last week. The ground was still blackened, but not as much as the tree trunks. The foliage and grass that would normally cover the bush floor was slowly achingly coming back to something that resembled life, and those trees that survived, still stood tall. The stand out from the drive though were the two things flourishing today.
How to marry people overseas
Maria asks: I am hoping to be able to travel and marry people in other countries so how do I go about doing that? I understand the law is different in each state in the US and of course Canada so is there an easy process to get the legal requirements to marry people overseas?
Interested in joining a celebrant computer club?
Hi, Josh here, your friendly neighbourhood computer geek. I remember being 12 years old and my mum got a phone call from a friend two blocks down the road and she needed computer help. So mum sent me down the road and I designed a spreadsheet for the friend. I am...A terrible time to buy a business
Recorded on April 21 in the year of COVID-19, live on Facebook and here in the podcast. Talked about how OPD has moved to webinar, how business is in the era of the coronavirus, do we need business cards any more, and what to do if you’re now doing a small...Check out an 11 year old celebrant survey
11 years ago (in 2009), celebrant directory website Celebrante, conducted a survey of about 1400 celebrants. I’m cleaning out my Dropbox folder and found the survey, so I thought it’d be an interesting piece of quarantine content for us all while we’re busy doing not...Witnessing a NOIM over Zoom in the COVID-19 lockdown
With Police Officers and JPs being the most popular witnesses to notices of intended marriage forms when a celebrant cannot attend the witnessing, and with many celebrants unable to attend a meeting to sign a notice of intended marriage because of social distancing directives, the Attorney-General’s department is investigating an alternative.
When you are not different even Google is against you
A really powerful way for you to spend your time and energy whilst weddings are essentially furloughed, is to evaluate, reevaluate, and evaluate even more, your current business systems and marketing strategies. I like to view my marketing strategy as a journey, and the end of that journey is when someone “walks into my store” and makes a purchasing decision, and my “store” is my website. On a recent Google Office Hours webinar, Google’s Webmaster Trends Analyst, John Mueller, made this comment on being different to a webmaster who has a ringtones website who was complaining of traffic dropping and their search engine position dropping …
Two months free for all new and existing celebrants
We didn’t want to clog up your inbox with another COVID-19 email about how we’re responding to the pandemic, in fact we’ve tried to not add to the noice and be helpful where we can.
Karen would like to talk to the Coronavirus manager
As everyone else in the world is doing, this episode we’re talking about the coronavirus, aka COVID-19. How is it affecting the wedding industry? How is it affecting us specifically? Get in touch if you want to tell us how you’re feeling:...Coronavirus income support for self-employed marriage celebrants
This blog post does not serve as legal or financial advice. We’re all just reading the Economic Response to the Coronavirus, fact sheet on Income Support for Individuals, on a Monday morning, the 24th of March at 9:50am, so take from it as you like. Let’s read it...You’ve asked some great questions about the service contract
In previous posts here on the Celebrant Institute – like this one – we’ve talked about how a great service contract is a really good starting point for defining the relationship you have with your clients, so when disaster or pandemic strikes, neither of you are “wondering where we stand” because it’s in writing already and agreed upon already. We’ve had a few questions about the service contract and wanted to address them here.
So, you’re being affected by a pandemic
If you’re a marriage celebrant, or officiant or even just a wedding vendor of some description, and your main clientele are inhabitants of planet earth, you might find yourself in a position in the coming weeks where there is a negative effect on your business and way of life due to a pandemic.
The Coronavirus should remind you to get this one important thing
There are so many issues surrounding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) that I’m not even going to pretend like I have the answers today. Think Splendid (one, two, and three) and the Wedding Photo Hangover cover it well. But one thing you should be thinking about in these times is as weddings move and are cancelled, what does that look like for your business? The bedrock foundation of any business transaction (between you and a couple for example) is how that relationships is defined. What is expected of you both, and are those expectations being met.
I’m a CEO now!
Thank you again for listening! This episode we chat about: Sarah’s exciting news Privacy implications of hiring a virtual assistant That old chestnut: thoughts about charging for travel and how to do it As always we welcome your thoughts and feedback at...“Ceremony writing is my least favourite part”
Jeff asks: I’m heading into my busiest year yet, I’m so happy I get to work alongside so many great humans who want to be married! The downside (if we can call it that) – my ceremony writing process is my least favourite part (is that bad?). I’ve done the work of automating as much of the process as humanly possible while creating a very fun customer journey, but when it comes down to writing the ceremony I’m just not that psyched. And then when you multiply the procrastination to start by x amount of weddings it’s easy to fall behind. Couples and guests have always said they love the ceremonies I write (phew!) but it can be exhausting and seems hard to scale.
Changing from selling to serving
Many of us have a problem with selling. It’s understandable, most of us have been sold to before, and we’ve hated it. A “salesperson” is often the sleaziest person in the room, and none of us want to be “that guy.” But here we are, trying to pay our mortgages or rent with some cash we earn from being a celebrant. And traditionally, that requires sales. So, I, Josh-saviour-to-the-celebrants, has a solution!
Ten reasons you should take credit card payments
If your couples don’t have an easy way to pay you with credit card, I’m of the belief that you’re not only missing out on cash flow and cash, but you’re also missing out on the goodwill you would generate by making your couples’ lives easier.
Here are ten reasons I think you should either enable credit card payments (if you already have the option) or look at extending your payment options to include credit card.
Moving town as a celebrant
Kath asks: Hey Josh, Just wondering if you have any advice on what I should be doing in preparation to “move/expand” a celebrant biz interstate. I am moving to Hobart mid year and would like to make a start on some marketing now which will in turn affect my bookings for the end or the year and the beginning of next. Apart from reaching out to some lovely local celebs in the area to say hello and booking in to attend an expo, do you have any ideas on what I should or could be doing online (website copy, SEO, blogging, google listing, marketing, back end kind of stuff) while I am in this early transition stage.
You don’t have to do everything
My favourite computing device is my iPad. I’m actually travelling for up to six months of this year with only my iPad – it’ll be my main computing device. There’s two or three little bug bears that really annoy me about the iPad, but the main one is how the Instagram app is still phone-only. There’s no iPad app for Instagram.
A podcast, not by us, with Jerry Saltz
I’ll be honest, I haven’t been able to kick the thought that as much as this podcast episode seems like the least likely thing to recommend to a pack of celebrants, I just have to. So here it is. Jerry Saltz, the New Yorker art critic weigh Dave Cheng, the chef....What are your travel fees for?
Linda asks: As a regional celebrant I am struggling with travel and how to incorporate this into my fees. I have an “anything over 200km round trip” clause which may seem a lot but its realistic to where I live. My problem is more about inquiry meetings, extra meetings and rehearsals. Obviously I cant charge for an inquiry meeting but do I just have a set higher wedding fee which kind of covers longer distances overall whether the wedding is near or far? Hope you can help!
Music for making ceremonies
Maybe you’re a better worker than I am so you don’t need this, but over here in Josh-world I’m as easily distracted as a mouse in a cheese tasting room. So seeing this resource made for programmers made me curious as to whether or not it might be...What happens if we don’t submit the official marriage certificate to BDM within two weeks
A Celebrant Institute member asks: “I know celebrants are required send all the legal documents after the wedding day or submit via lifelink within 14 days of the ceremony but what actually happens if we forget?” Sarah’s on holidays this week but luckily for you, this is a question even I can answer.
A 29 day challenge to get better at creating online content
I hear a lot of celebrants say they struggle coming up with ideas on what to post on social media. So I’ve written a 29 day challenge to help you get in the habit of creating great content for your social media on a regular basis. You can read about it at...Will a hot outdoor wedding cook my PA system?
Sophie asks: When performing a ceremony out in the blazing sun with no undercover area nearby are either of you protecting your speaker/receivers etc from the direct sun? I’m nervous about it all overheating and thought you guys might have found a solution? I thought maybe of attaching an umbrella somehow to my stand?
How to make marriage paperwork PDFs, and where to send them
While I’ve talked a lot about how I sign my paperwork on an iPad, you’re welcome to choose your tablet and software of choice, I haven’t detailed exactly where the paperwork comes from.
Of course you can [download blank marriage paperwork] from the Attorney-General’s office, and if you wanted to find the shortest link between the AGD website and signing it on an iPad, you could literally treat that blank paperwork like blank physical paper. But there’s a better way and it depends which state you live in.
Queensland BDM needs more info on parents
A member asked for help with the Queensland BDM pushing back on a marriage registration and wanting more info on parents.
Which iPad and which apps do you recommend for celebrants?
Jake asks: I’m currently taking bookings faster than I planned would happen and have decided that an iPad might be a better way to keep everything in one place , meaning my emails/ceremonies, and documents. But the main reason is I would like to be able to have my couples sign the the paperwork on the iPad (form 15 , NOIM) all that jazz. I just wanted to know what you would recommend in size and what programs/apps would make this possible.
Comparing a Josh wedding ceremony and a Sarah ceremony
A topic we don’t cover enough here in the Celebrant Institute membership is ceremony presentation and style. It’s such a personal topic and each of us has our own style. But today we thought we’d lift the cover and show you all how Sarah and I both present a ceremony. Presented below are two videos, full recordings of a recent ceremony we have both presented recently.
Value your interaction
A recent Seth Godin post has had me thinking about celebrancy all weekend. Interaction is a privilege. But it doesn’t often scale. The fact that people get to interact with you, taking time away from your partner, family, friends, garden, book, TV show, bed, haircut,...Do not murder
It’s our first episode for 2020, and in this one we chat about: the Celebrant Institute’s new partnership with Pod Legal the pros and cons of leveraging the bushfire crisis (or any other charitable cause) for business purposes what happens when a party...When you’ve got an odd name pronunciation
I married a couple recently and the bride had one of those names where there was a few different ways it could possibly be pronounced. In that situation, when we first meet, I introduce myself with my name, and expect the same in return, I’ll then note how they pronounce their own name. But she didn’t!
I feel the same way about business.
A modern day version of the busy cafe getting busier
If you’re not already familiar with the reason why, when faced with two cafes next to each other most of us will choose the busier cafe, the reason is social proof.
Receiving ID documentation securely
Sophie asks a very important and pertinent question (which I’ve slightly edited for brevity): A question regarding the safety of couples sending digital copies of their ID via email or within a system like Dubsado. A groom works in IT and raised concern when I asked him to send through copies of their ID to draft their NOIM. I replied saying that I thought uploading their docs via a form in Dubsado would be safe. He replied ’In regards to the Dubsado application or other applications with securing sensitive documents\data, I’m in IT and been involved in data breach incidents. All applications and back end data need to follow ISO 27001 standards, so hopefully Dubsado are complying. Part of the standard is that, these documents provided are extremely sensitive and should not be emailed and secured within the application. Data travelling via networks (internet) need to be encrypted, and not all email accounts or tools do this. Hence why I shared the documents\data via a shared drive for you to sight the files only, then I delete. I informally recommend, not to save these documents\data within the application, unless they are fully encrypted, or deleted 6-12 months after the ceremony. Especially not to save this data on your desktop or email account, and NEVER click on an email or link your don’t know the recipient.’ Wondering what you guys know and think of this? I should probably contact Dubsado directly too, but at times have had couples email and even text me through pics of their ID – is it way too risky and should I use Skype/FaceTime aka ‘real time’ to never run into the issue? Obviously receiving a pic is a lot more convenient most of the time!
40 Questions To Ask Yourself Each New Year
To bring in the new year, [Stephen Ango asks himself 40 questions]. I liked his list but thought I’d alter it for Celebrant Institute followers so we could reflect on where we’ve been and look at where we’re going. Identify trends, strengths, weaknesses, and things we should simply be proud of as individuals and as a community. Stephen’s is a personal list, and my amendments are focused on your celebrant business. Maybe you want to do both, or just one, it’s all up to you.
Your price is part of your story
I thought I’d share a quick and small story about a wedding I didn’t get booked for.
Changing the redundant parts of the Marriage Act – December 2019 Update
If you’ve been following an earlier blog post where we made submissions to our local MP regarding removing some redundant parts of the Marriage Act of 1961, well, I got an update: Thank you for providing your thoughts on potential reform of section 50 of the...When wanting to be featured or talked about, know this one thing
A favourite read of mine is the regular Susbtack email from Ariel Stalling. You might know her name from a little blog called Offbeat Bride. In this week’s mailout, Ariel tells the story of how someone a little bit like her was covered in the New York Times.
Before I actually read the words in the piece I thought Ariel was telling the story about how she was covered in the New York Times which would’ve been kind of cool, but then when you sit down and read it you realise that someone slightly similar to her with a really good publicist was covered in the Times instead.
What are the ABIA awards? A guide for celebrants
A reader asks: “I’ve noticed the ABIA awards presentation nights have been occurring but what is the ABIA awards and how do people win the ABIA awards? What is the scoring based on? I see these marks of 99.93 etc.” I’ll answer this question on behalf of ABIA, then with my own opinion, which may or may not include the now famous, Billockery Awards, the celebrancy industry’s most favourable fictionalised awards system.
Please put the (sales) gun down!
A quick Saturday morning flick through the social media feeds showed me six celebrants doing a bad thing on social media.
They’re not breaking the law, and in their minds they’re not doing a bad or evil thing. Many people would see the same thing I did and think it’s perfectly fine.
But my advice would be to stop.
Communicating timelines with couples
Alex asks: My question is regarding communication with couples – specifically timelines. Before I became a Celebrant I remember hearing a few off-hand remarks from a family friend and also a cousin about their Celebrants. The general feedback was that they never heard from their celebrant after booking them, had no idea what to expect (for example commented “we hadn’t heard from her in 4 months”) and both had doubts about how the day would run. I was horrified! To me, managing expectations is super important but I also understand it may be different with each couple. So my question is – sorry it took me a while to get there – do you have any advice on how you communicate a “timeline of events” with the couple – or can you provide an example of one? And also advice for me on ceremony writing….how soon before the wedding do you start it and if requested or preferred by the couple when do you send a first draft for them to review, and how soon before the ceremony do you “lock everything in?”
A review of Wedwordy, a ceremony script creator
I was email marketed by the team at Wedwordy recently, with their offering of a ceremony script builder. Wedwordy promises to create personalised wedding ceremony scripts “as easy as 1-2-3” so I reached out to them and requested a review. I’ve listened to many celebrants through the ages talk about their ceremony script writing process, some put way too much effort in, and many simply phone it in by inserting names in the right places and clicking print. Some don’t even go that far and thanks to those celebrants the profession has that reputation of saying the wrong names in a ceremony.
Contacting our local MP about the now redundant requirement of two official marriage certificates
On this week’s podcast episode I talked about contacting our local member of parliament to request a change to the Marriage Act of 1961. The act requires two official certificates of marriage be prepared, which in a digital age where we’re creating PDF certificates, is a little redundant.
Our submission for Ongoing Professional Development from 2021
We always want to keep you in the loop as to what we’re suggesting, so here’s Sarah and my submission to the MLCS for OPD from 2021 onwards.
PDF’s are losing their contents when imported to Notability
Victoria asks: I downloaded Notability on my iPad so I could easily get signatures on my doc as you said you found that one the best – however when it opens the filled in versions of the PDFS from the AG’s site as that’s what I use – they appear blank. Any tips on how to get them to appear filled in?
Where do all the people come from?
Jeff asks: When you look back on leads, what seems to be working? Do you have a rough breakdown of where/how couples are finding you? Do you find Instagram/Facebook ads work? Venue referrals? The Google…?
Is there room at the top of the market?
Jeff asks: A general price question: when you both set your prices (to their current rates), were you/are you in line with what others charge or are you much higher? Pretty sure I’m the highest priced officiant in my region of 500,000 folks, but @ $650/ceremony I’d have to perform about 27 weddings/week to go legit. That doesn’t work. I have right around 75 weddings on the books for 2019 and it’s great since this is a side hustle, but I want to make the leap but for suuuure can’t at this rate. I’m hesitant because if I jump up to $800-$1000 I’ll literally be charging more than double the price or most others…but I guess someone has to be most expensive, I might as well be that guy…was just curious your thoughts on that.
One of the greatest voids in the world today is original content
A repetitive theme in my writing is the encouragement for you to create your own content. I really do believe that creating original, helpful, relevant, personal, content is a majorly easy way for you to have a win today.
The one with the solid tangent
It’s a month until Christmas and here we are again with another episode of your favourite podcast! This episode Josh and Sarah chat about the latest newsletter from MLCS, our thoughts about OPD into the future, our obligations in an online environment, not...Digital drivers licenses as ID, a guide for celebrants
As more Australian states start delivering digital drivers licenses it’s important for Australian marriage celebrants to know if they can use digital drivers licenses as ID when solemnising marriages.
People hate ads
I’m eventually going to start sounding like a broken record, but we all need to get it into our head: ads as we used to know them no longer work.
People hate ads.
Making customer journeys easier, and inclusive, like Sephora
Sephora has identified that not every customer desires the same journey, so they created a fork in the road to cater for two different personality types.
How to surprise a couple with a ceremony
Jeff asks: When/how did you now it was ok to not share ceremony content with the couple but just have them trust you on the day of? Couples and guests really love what I put together (I guess I’ve figured out that much ha!) and I have lots of reviews that say it’s great – removing the step of sharing content would literally make things faaaar easier, just wondering how to get couples on board with that or when it’s ok to do that.
Why we deliver the best Cert IV in Celebrancy Australia
If you’re aspiring to be a celebrant in the near future, Sarah and I deliver the Certificate IV in Celebrancy through this very Institute.
We’re lucky enough to have experienced, and to continue to experience the full breadth of celebrancy training, students contact us every day with questions their trainers and colleges are answering incorrectly or weirdly.
Josh’s ceremony inclusions
Jeff, a Canadian celebrant, asks: I’m wondering what sections you two include in your ceremonies? I have a very similar trajectory for each ceremony, and add or subtract (readings etc) based on what the couple are looking for, but was wondering how others on the other side of the world do it!
What is in your terms and conditions
Theresa asks: I’ve had a couple of last-minute cancellations recently – given the circumstances, I’m happy that the weddings didn’t go ahead. Anyhow, it has forced me to take a much-needed look at my T&C’s and was wondering if either of you would be open to sharing how you deal with the following scenarios/what you have in your invoices or statement of fees: 1. Cancellations, 2. The unlikely event that you are unavailable and need to arrange someone else to step in, 3. The unlikely event that you are unavailable and cannot find anyone else to step in.
Becoming a celebrant for a side hustle
Every week one or two potential new celebrants email or DM me about starting a celebrancy business as a side hustle, hoping to make a few dollars on the side to provide for their family’s extra needs or to put some cash in the holiday account.
It’s understandable. In the past it was a common part time career for a mum, or a school teacher, to undertake and just do a few ceremonies a year.
Online advertising just doesn’t work the way we hope
There is a fascinating article on The Correspondent today about the next “dot com bubble” being online advertising. The link is a long, but easy, and really (seriously) interesting read, but for the benefit of CI blog readers, I’ll quote a few...We’ve got a seat at the AGD’s table
Twice a year the Marriage Law and Celebrants Section (MLCS) of the Attorney General’s Department meets with representatives of celebrants associations to discuss the potential impact of policies and legislative changes to the Marriage Celebrants Programme. For...It’s time to wean ourselves off this teat
The most popular question I’m asked in person by my wedding industry colleagues, and here on the Celebrant Institute, is which website do I advertise on or which directory do I list in that works?
Somewhere along the way, wedding vendors have gotten really comfortable being fed off the teat of wedding blogs, directories, websites, and magazines.
Written to elicit a response
This episode we chat about our inclusion at meetings with MLCS and celebrant associations, a cap on celebrant numbers, the survey re OPD and new celebrant applications, the new rules around celebrant obligations in an online environment, and children at...Can I claim the costs of meetings at cafes as a business expense?
A member asks, “Can you claim a tax deduction for the cost of holding a couple meeting at a cafe? Paying for their coffee? I hear different answers to this.”
How to say the monitum with warmth
Tracey asks: I’d really love some input about how/where in the ceremony you would say the Monitum. In amongst all the beautiful ‘love’ words it can feel a bit cold and clinical. I’m yet to find a way to bring it into the ceremony without it sounding a bit like an announcement! I feel pretty ok with writing sections of a ceremony. Tying them together is the tricky part for me!
How to update your Bose S1 speaker’s software
You can update the software on your Bose S1 speaker, and it comes with new features like using your speakers with the Bose Connect app, whilst also making the speakers operate with greater stability.
High pitched squeak out of the speaker system
Thanks very much for your helpful article about PA system recommendations. I hope Bose & Sennheiser are kind to you! I upgraded to both recommended items & during testing at home & at a venue it worked perfectly, but once the ceremony started there was some audio issues; couple of those high pitches squeaks and I think a bit of cutting out. It wasn’t a disaster but also wasn’t great, and I’d like my audio to be as good as poss so just trying to figure it out before the next ceremony.
How to use two Bose S1 speakers in a wedding ceremony
Sophie asks: “After a beach ceremony last weekend I vowed to never lug my massive speaker around again – its ridiculously heavy, I’m pregnant, plus sand = a terrible time. I loved your set-up at the conference and def did not write enough notes at that time about what was going on. Bose S1 Pro, check. If I go with 2 speakers like you had do they have to be connected with a cable? I don’t think yours did but some audio store people are telling me I’d have to? I’m not too tech savvy but have reasonable intelligence so I know I can work it all out when I get going. Ideally I’d like 2 speakers playing all audio at once – me speaking through a headset (something decent Rode or the like), couples into a handheld (Senheiser right?) and music played through Bluetooth. This is pretty much what I’ve told the few places I’ve approached so far but then it gets complicated quick when they’re talking to me about mixers and cables etc etc and I’m lost. Any quick and not too laborious help??
Are we finished being angry at Glenn yet?
This episode is pretty wide ranging, as I guess most of our chats are – we talk about the Celebrant Institute’s first year and all the awesome stuff we’re doing, reactions to Glenn Mackay’s appearance on our last episode, and the Coalition of...Josh’s plan for posting on social media
When I post on social media, I’ve got one plan in mind. Not to sell, not to do a deal, not to whinge or complain. I want to be known. So when people that like me make a decision about a celebrant, I’m who they think of. When I saw this recent meme about the mortifying ordeal of being known and loved it resonated with me so much I had to work it into a talk for our recent conference.
Three reasons your celebrant website should be secure
As you’re viewing this blog post you’ll note that in the URL bar, the part where you type the blah blah blah dot com bit, next to the domain name ‘celebrant.institute’ you’ll see a little padlock 🔓 icon that is a sign that this website is communicating with your web browser securely. If you share any information with this website, by logging in, making a comment, typing in a credit card number, or even just reading blog posts, that content is all secure. Running a secure website today is not only popular and a good look, but it is important for your brand identity and your search engine optimisation. As an example, here’s a screenshot of a website I visited today and I was surprised how negatively I felt about the brand knowing that they had not installed an SSL certificate on their website and made it a secure connection.
How to get more wedding enquiries
Liene at Think Splendid shares five powerfully simple ways to get more enquiries to your wedding celebrant business today. They’re so simple that you are hopefully already doing them, or if you’re not, this is a quick and swift reminder.
How to be a wedding reception MC
The art of MCing a wedding reception is definitely one most celebrants could master, but it’s a little different to being a marriage celebrant, so here’s master MC, Glenn Mackay, of G&M Event Group at the 2019 conference on how to perfect the art.
If you’re looking for more from Glenn he was a guest on the Celebrant Talk Show on a totally different subject, listen here.
$6 Dollar Breakfast!
After dropping my car off to be serviced this morning I hit the local cafe strip to find a breakfast befitting of someone wanting to sit in a cafe for breakfast and a coffee while answering emails and writing blog posts. The first cafe was offering a $6 breakfast, and...Ladies And Gentlemen, And Everyone Else!
Today on the podcast we’re super lucky to be joined by Glenn Mackay, who is an award-winning wedding MC and DJ in SE Queensland. He’s seen hundreds of wedding ceremonies while he’s been playing the ceremony music, and we’re delighted to have...Sally’s dilemma is our dilemma
Sally is a video maker who Bernadette Jiwa writes about here: What most clients pay Sally for—the deliverable, is that five minutes of video footage. But what Sally dreams of doing and being paid for is finding stories worth telling. It’s easier for Sally to sell the...Why people hire the mediocre celebrant instead of you
If you want people to appreciate that what you offer is better, that what you offer is actually good, the market needs to have more actually good businesses in it. It seems like you should be able to stand apart by being good when surrounded by a sea of mediocrity, but real life rarely works that way. If you want people to appreciate that what you offer is better, that what you offer is actually good, the market needs to have more actually good businesses in it. It seems like you should be able to stand apart by being good when surrounded by a sea of mediocrity, but real life rarely works that way.
Non-refundable refund demanded
Veronica asks: I know where you stand on refunds. Yesterday, I had a bride who cancelled her November wedding due to the relationship splitting, texting me nasty abuse and demanding the clearly stated non-refundable booking fee. It’s stated on my invoice &...On the off chance that no-one knows what this sentence is about
Hello everybody! Thanks for joining us for another episode of The Celebrant Talk Show! This time Josh and Sarah chat about the annual registration fee (pay yours now!), the review of the marriage forms, the epic funeral course Sarah went on...Five easy SEO hacks you can do that are driven by research
Everyone knows a guy who knows a guy who can get you on the front page of Google. I’d argue that you might not want to be on the front page of Google for everything, but it doesn’t hurt for the right people to be able to find you.
In this article I’m not going to add to the SEO noise, you can read a million articles about SEO practises and there are even more people willing to take your cash to make it work for you.
But if you don’t mind kicking around the shed that is your website, here’s a check list of things you can change or improve on, and they’re backed up with good research. As opposed to the standard old wives tale SEO advice that most people’s parent’s next-door neighbours are dishing out.
Celebrants (and creatives) are not paid per hour
I believe with all my mind, body, and soul, that service people aren’t paid per hour, they’re paid for how much value they bring to that hour. So here’s my July challenge for all celebrants …
If I have ever brought you any value
If I have ever brought you any value…
If my practice as a celebrant has inspired you, challenged you, or if I have personllay helped you in any way, can I ask for your help?
What does Queensland BDM email people after their marriage is registered?
I’ve been telling couples that after their marriage ceremony the Queensland Births, Deaths, and Marriages will email them with “an opportunity to order their marriage certificate” but I had not actually seen one of those emails yet. I’m guessing you hadn’t either.
So here’s what the Qld BDM emails after you register a marriage online with them:
24 ways you give the rest of us an advantage (or, Liene brings the fire)
Liene at Think Splendid has dropped some absolute fire on the wedding industry today. I love this. You should read the piece and follow her links for context, but here’s the drop: Your ego is their competitive advantage. Your complacency is their competitive...Who are the wedding awards for?
I’m sitting in a cafe in Queenstown sitting next to a table of people I don’t recognise, but judging by their conversation, they’re actresses from the USA who have varying thoughts about the Tony Awards. One of the girls said something that resonated with a recent...Your priorities are visible
Some emails get quick replies from me, others have to wait a week. Sometimes I’ll go a few days without posting on social media, but I haven’t missed a wedding yet. I have a simple set of priorities in my life. My family, Britt and Luna, are first. Second is a marriage ceremony, third is my friendships and wider community and family. Fourth is sales and marketing, and replying to enquiries. Fifth is the admin side of the business, and sixth is tidying up my office.
Start how you’d like to finish
Britt’s grandma always said that you should start how you want to finish.
The stories you’re forgetting to tell on social media
Your stories are more powerful than you think. This article is about sharing the stories about you and your celebrancy that you’ve forgotten to share.
Shut down the myths around getting married and hiring a celebrant
I’m flying to Europe soon and I’ve put in for a first class upgrade. On Qantas you can apply for an upgrade and it costs you thousands of frequent flyer points. That’s how you fly first class, either that or you pony up the cash for it. In the history of flying the smallest handful of people have been upgraded to first class on a whim.
But if you talk to most people that don’t fly that often they will share the myth that if you are dressed well, looking sharp, feeling pretty, and you are nice to the check-in staff, the boarding staff, and the cabin crew, that you will hopefully be chosen for an upgrade.
That’s the problem with the areas of life that we don’t touch on often, they’re filled with mystery and intrigue …
Simplify your celebrancy practice
In the chaotic and wild adventure that planning and hosting a wedding is I always try to remain a calm, cool, friendly face to my couples. This sounds like a great idea, but you need systems and processes to allow yourself to be that cool and calm.
I was inspired recently by Hans Hofmann, the artist, who talked about simplicity as “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” …
Would you follow you?
Would you follow yourself on social media? If you saw that a friend of yours commented on one of your posts so it floated up to your news feed, and you clicked through to your profile, would you follow it?
An example of finding your ‘Almost Nobody’
In a post yesterday I described the hard work of finding your ‘Almost Nobody’. This, I argue, is your life’s work, and something that will forever be changing. A good example of me doing that work in my own business is by filtering out the ‘Everybody’ and making room for the ‘Almost Nobody’ to feel comfortable on my social media.
Almost Nobody, wants you to be their celebrant
Almost Nobody, wants you to be their celebrant and that is really good news. Everybody, wants a celebrant that is nothing like you. This article will help you get that prized enquiry from Almost Nobody!
Sarah is pretty riled up, plus funeral photography
Hi everyone and thanks for tuning in once more! This episode we chat about: • funeral training and why Sarah continues to attend it, even with her level of experience • funeral photography: • https://thefuneralphotographer.com.au/...How to leave a celebrant association
A few recent conversations with celebrants on social media have prompted me to the question: what is membership in a celebrant association for? Traditionally the associations lobbied the Attorney-General’s office, and the BDMs of each state, on our behalf – but that role has diminished seriously in recent years, with individual celebrants getting more done than an association has …
How value is really created
Stop talking, ask questions and listen, and you’ll learn about them. In order to think like your customer, you must focus on your customer. Your customer could be a prospect, an existing client, a boss, a co-worker, a friend or family member. Your desire should be to create value for your customer, not just to communicate information about you (or just talk about yourself), your company, products and services, and therefore you need to have walked in their shoes. Before you make your value pitch (in whatever form that takes), a prerequisite is having a deep sense of what your customer values.
How to actually compete with other celebrants
We spend a lot of time looking at other celebrants, but here’s a helpful and practical way to look at your competitors and actually form a competitive advantage.
Talking ‘Inside Baseball’
“Inside baseball” is one of my favourite Americanisms, it’s a figurative adjective meaning the details are appreciated by only a small group of insiders or aficionados. It usually refers to a detail-oriented approach to the minutiae of a subject, which requires such a specific knowledge about what is being discussed that the nuances are not understood or appreciated by outsiders.
Posting pro photos on social media etiquette
Mark asks, I was hoping you could explain the etiquette for posting photos on your Website, Facebook and Instagram account when supplied by a professional photographer please.
What should I do at a wedding expo?
Hi, I am a new country celebrant with three weddings booked late this year, early next year but none performed so far. I am attending a wedding expo soon ( in the country) and am not sure what to do. I have collaborated with a supplier to use an arbor, have my logo enlarged to easel size and have business cards. But wondering what else I need. I dont have photos of me officiating yet obviously. What information type material should I have with me, what questions do you usually get asked, do I just stand there and smile, “have chockies to reel them in”? Please help!!
Acknowledging sonder
Have you heard of sonder?
The emotional bit, with Vickie Musni
A special guest, Vickie Musni personality trainer, on the podcast this week to talk about the upcoming Celebrant Institute conference where she’s talking plus hosting a workshop on how personalities work themselves into your...Can we marry people on the water or in the air in Australia?
Elle asks: I have a wedding where I am marrying the couple on a boat, we are all going to get on and cruise for 10mins until the couple get a feeling like yep lets pull up here and then I will do their ceremony, then the boat will carry on for couple of hours whilst everyone has drinks, food and watches the sunset. So in regard to Location of marriage on paperwork, NOIM and Marriage Docs as I won’t know the coordinates until we literally pull up, do I just write the coordinates in quickly before I call everyone in to kick ceremony off or can I fill when we go to sign docs? And am I just writing the coordinates, or do I need to put the boats name also?
Money, money, money
In this episode we discuss being a full-time celebrant, off the back of the results of the annual CoCA celebrant survey and a subsequent article on the ABC FNQ website.Getting the deposit paid
Veronica asks: How to you get clients to pay the booking fee, without sounding desperate or annoying?
How to make a great ceremony without a rehearsal
Tori asks: I would really love to hear from you both (knowing that you prefer rehearsals Sarah, and you don’t tend to do them Josh), what is your approach to ensuring a ceremony runs as smoothly as possible and flows well when couples elect not to have a rehersal? As a new celebrant with just two ceremonies under my belt, I noticed a real difference between the first ceremony which had a rehearsal (with all the bridesmaids and groomsmen), and the second when the couple were quite adamant they preferred to go with the flow on the day. How do you go about still ensuring everyone involved feels comfortable and knows where to stand/where to move to during the ceremony when there is no rehearsal? I had a ‘talk through’ with my rehearsal-free couple and explained a few points to brief their bridesmaids/groomsmen with, but I don’t think this occurred as on the day I could some of the bridesmaids in particular were visibly confused/looked a little uncomfortable not knowing what they were doing. Any tips would be appreciated! Thanks 🙂 Tori
Firing a couple
A celebrant friend has been going back and forth with a couple who want a celebrant that’s not her. Maybe they’ve been on the blogs and Pinterest and they’ve decided that this is how you deal with a celebrant, or maybe their friends and family have told them how to act this way, regardless, they are taking themselves on a different customer journey to the one my friend would normally take her couples on.
Today she asks, “should I fire them?”
God bless the Facebook Groups
Hello again everyone! Today Josh and Sarah are actually recording this from the same room! Amazing and awesome. We had a bunch of topics we planned to talk about, but instead it appears we ended up talking about the importance and difficulty of language for almost an...You gotta know when to fold ’em
Hello everyone, and thanks for bearing with us since December! As always, we love being in your ears, and here we are again with another episode of the Celebrant Talk Show Podcast 🙂 This episode we chat about:Sarah’s Cert IV training and how it works Marriage Celebrants Matters Autumn newsletterVIC BDM RIOThe Frustrated StateHow to go full-time as a celebrant
What do celebrants legally have to say?
Kelly asks: What do we legally have to say? Just read guidelines and act section 45/46 and I’m reading we only need to say monitum and a couple the legal vow. I read/was trained that we have to introduce ourselves as the celebrant with the lucky job of marrying the shit outta the couple before us…but do we actually have to? I’m looking at making my intro less formal and hoping I’ve read it right.
How I perform ceremonies without notes or a script
My couples tell me they love it, wedding vendors are always surprised, and other celebrants are always blown away. They are bewildered by my ability to perform a marriage ceremony without a script or notes.
How a real celebrant should read the Guidelines, and other thoughts on marriage celebrancy
The recent post on sighting ID included some powerful language from the Attorney-General’s office:The Guidelines on the Marriage Act 1961 for authorised celebrants is issued to assist celebrants to comply with the Marriage Act and Regulations. Ultimately it is up to the celebrant to comply with all of the requirements of the Act. I appreciate that some of the language used in the Guidelines is of a directive nature, rather than of best practice nature.Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Marriage Celebrants Section
A massive change to how marriage celebrants can sight ID
For the past six months I have been pursuing a line of inquiry with the Attorney-General’s office Marriage Celebrants Section over the line in the Guidelines section 4.4.2: It is not acceptable for a celebrant to accept a NOIM and/or supporting documents via videoconferencing services such as Skype. Actual documentation must be received by the celebrant.
How to tell an enquiry “It’s not you, it’s me”
Tenielle asks: Hey guys, I’m hoping you can lend me some advice or wording to send to a couple. Met with them on Saturday and whilst they are lovely, the vibe was NOT there. Conversation was really stunted and it didn’t seem like a natural fit from my perspective. I’m really not wanting to take their booking, but I don’t know how to politely tell them, ‘Thanks but no thanks’. I’m especially aware of any legal obligations we have to marry couples and not discriminate against them.I would use the whole, ‘Sorry I’m double booked!’ route, but their date just opened for my bookings and that would be a blatantly obvious lie.
Do you really want that exposure?
On a road near my house there’s a billboard that promises to expose my business to many thousands of people. A similar promise has been made by the producers of Married at First Sight and other TV shows. Everyone wants to sell us exposure. I would argue that exposure is the last thing we need.
The Unofficial Guidelines on the ‘Guidelines on the Marriage Act 1961 for Marriage Celebrants’ for Marriage Celebrants
Deb writes in asking “I appear to get myself into hot water time and time again, by saying that the Guidelines are just that GUIDELINES, and the act and the regs are the actual LAW. Am I right?”
How to become the celebrant in the know
Anka asks: I’m wanting to start blogging this year and making myself known as the “celebrant in the know” within my area with some personality thrown in as well but I’m not sure exactly how to start? Any suggestions or topics?
What’s the go with overseas weddings
Anka asks: Lately I’ve noticed a lot of celebrants on Facebook have started advertising that they can do weddings overseas?? I didn’t think we could? Im presuming they might be just completing paperwork at the airport before they depart? Or did u miss something
How do I do marriage certificates?
I was just wondering how you all prepare your pretty Form 15s. Does anyone use traditional calligraphy? Hand write? Use a template on a printer? Julia Hern I’ll answer Julia’s question along with a wider explanation of how I prepare all of my paperwork,...How I make personal ceremonies
When creating a marriage ceremony, my goal isn’t to personalise my ceremony, but to make it personal. That’s a subtle but pointed difference. Personalising my ceremonies is the act of having existing ceremonies and then changing them to suit the couple....Marketing: if I was starting today
If I was starting as a celebrant today I would do so many things differently. This article is hopefully timely for our readers, after all it is enquiries season! My rough research tells me that more people are engaged in between Christmas Eve and Valentine’s Day...These are bad vows, I’m out
Thanks for having us in your ears again! This episode we catch up on what’s been going on in both our lives over the past three months, we follow up on a few issues from the last episode, and we chat about what’s to come in 2019! Topics covered include:...Scheduling multiple ceremonies in a day
Sean asks “Do you have any advice on taking multiple bookings in a day? Accounting for travel time of course what’s the minimum amount of time you leave yourself in between ceremonies, and is this something you discuss with your couples at all?”...Remarkable
Thoughts on creating remarkable work, as a marriage celebrant.
How to sign marriage paperwork on an iPad
I’ve had a few people ask how I sign marriage paperwork on an iPad, and I had the grandest of intentions of preparing a fully professional video detailing that. However we’re expecting a baby any day now and I figured a low quality video with high quality information is better than no video at all…
My disappointment every car service
Every time my car gets serviced, at 10,000km a service that’s about four to five times a year, I have this sinking feeling as I drive away from the mechanic’s workshop. After spending six odd hours away from me, and an average of $500 to $700 invoice, the car I drive away in feels pretty much the same as I brought to the workshop that morning at 8am…
Beginners guide to not getting hacked
Reading the news today I realised that after Kristy Merlino’s email and Mailchimp accounts were hacked, that Kanye West’s iPhone passcode is 00000 and that Facebook doesn’t care about your privacy – it might be possible that other people aren’t 1) as passionate about Internet privacy and security as I am, 2) and even if they were, they might not know how to protect themselves…
Old marketing versus new marketing, example 503,000,091
Old marketing would put the right message in the right place so the right people would find it. The celebrant would advertise in the wedding magazine because people having weddings bought wedding magazines. The tools were at the tool shop so people who needed tools would know where to buy them. The cheap services were advertised where cheap people shopped, and expensive services were advertised where people with too much money shopped…
The art of differentiation
“Differentiation starts with the choice to do one thing well” says Bernadette at The Story of Telling blog. I wanted to break that powerful statement down and offer up some food of thought for celebrants today. The choice Your celebrant practise, the act...What it’s like to be deregistered
351 Australian marriage celebrants were deregistrated this week because they “did not pay the celebrant registration charge“ and here are the three letters they received after their initial invoice: Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2018 12:07:09 +1000 Subject: Annual Celebrant...Calculating your fee
Liene over at Think Splendid has published a super insightful blog post about how she prices herself for her speaking gigs.
I wonder if we as celebrants have considered not only our costs of doing business expenses, living wage, the average celebrant fee, the market’s response to fees, and everything else we can talk about when it comes to pricing yourself, but have we considered this important point.
Two marketing positions better than “cheap celebrant”
There are only three positions you can take in any marketplace: First, Best, Cheapest. That’s not to say only three businesses can win in any marketplace, after all, there are almost 10,000 celebrants serving over 120,000 weddings in Australia every year, clearly there are more than three people winning.
Is that wedding today?
Hello again and thanks for tuning into The Celebrant Talk Show podcast! This episode we chat about: wedding plannersreceiving identity documents electronicallyCelebrant software: which package is bettter?the importance of paying your registration fee as soon as you...How to get enquiries to reply to your emails
Great question today: Let’s talk follow up emails. You’ve received an enquiry, or worse, have met with a couple. You’ve sent them an email back, but it’s crickets from their end. How do you word your emails to try and elicit a response from them? I don’t want to rush them, but at the same time I’ve got a business to run.
Uploading documents to NSW BDM from a Mac
A little tip for celebrants using the NSW Lifelink system. I tweeted at the NSW Justice Department decrying their developers of not allowing Mac users to upload documents into Lifelink and one of their staff wrote me back with this little tip. Don’t worry,...Giving your clients what they want: bad deal
I have been simmering on the idea that our clients don’t actually know what they want, despite almost all wedding vendor websites claiming to give them whatever they want, for quite a while now. I even had half an article drafted, and then today Liene at Think...iPad Celebrants, you need this tip
If you’re a celebrant who reads off your iPad, you might not be aware of a simple way you can help photographers and videographers. If the ceremony is inside with lower lighting, your iPad’s screen brightness will often reflect onto your face, like this:...Joining an association, Josh’s view
Jo asks What professional association do I join? One? Two? All? I know this is tricky question and high levels of diplomacy may be required – but how does a newbie choose between the associations? My RTO has given no advice and all associations seem to offer the...How to MC a wedding reception, a guide for celebrants
We’ve had a number of questions about MC’ing wedding receptions recently, so I’ve wrapped it all up in this quick and easy how-to guide. The host, or MC, of an event is as unique role as the whole event is held in your hands but you’re not at...Which directories should we advertise in?
Sarita asks: I’m a relatively new celebrant and just after some advice on the world of wedding directories. There seem to be loads. Apart from the obvious ones like easyweddings, ABIA, there’s lots of smaller ones like polka dot bride, wedding guide, celebrant society, etc etc & a huge variation on how much it costs to list with them. Have you any tips, recommendations on where to go and where not to go. I feel like I should be listing somewhere (shouldn’t I?) but where to go!
Celebrancy: The price
Self-employed creatives can talk about price and fee until the end of time. I’ve had celebrants privately, publicly, to my face, and behind my back, make all of the comments about why I charge too much, or not enough, and how that’s a problem, or an opportunity.
Doing deals with other vendors
Pete asks: I have a question about the legalities of commercial arrangements with third parties given that as a Celebrant we’re government officers and our duty to avoid potential conflicts. Just about everyone has a people we love section on their website, but,...Where to host your website
Emma asks To squarespace or not to squarespace? What are your tips for starting a website? This article has the opportunity to be a long and nerdy one, so I’m going to be purposely brief so that you can make an educated decision easily. All business decisions...Are you starving yourself because you won’t turn left?
This week I’ve been in Vancouver, British Columbia, for two marriage ceremonies and it has been an amazing experience, with the one caveat: in Canada they drive on the incorrect side of the road. You might think this has everything to do with my ability to drive...What to do about crying
Here’s a fun one for you guys. How do you deal with crying? I’m currently studying and in my performance assignment, my “bride” burst into tears and I realised I was totally unprepared for what I imagine is a very common occurrence. Do I just...Getting your financials in order
“I just did my tax and I’m very frustrated!!! I need advice on what software or system to use to make it easier. Most I see are not designed for a sole owner operator that has not registered for GST (I earn less than 75k); they seem too complicated. I know what I earn and spend this shouldn’t be so frustrating. But I never know what category to put things in. I don’t know. What do you use? I have a subscription to 17hats I thought that might help but its basically designed for America.”
The podcast about the wedding porn
We chat about the importance of exchanging value and not simply expecting things for free, we give a rundown of what we’ve written about for the Celebrant Institute over the past month, and we talk a bit about Vic BDM’s new online system (spoiler alert,...Answering “How much do you cost?”
Amber asks Leading from the price on website debate – how do you answer the “How much do your services cost?” enquiry?I try to start a conversation and speak about value and the experience but sometimes it is just frustrating. For example, l had the...How to publish Facebook ads that work
I don’t know.
If there’s anything you can expect from me today and into the future is that I’m not going to talk BS. The good news is that I know as much about Facebook advertising as most marketers and advertisers do, and they don’t know either, because there is no one perfect ad that will close all the deals and make all the bookings. So as much as I don’t know how to publish Facebook ads that work, I do know how to publish Facebook ads that work for me, so I’ll take you through that process and also weave in some professional best practises and see if we can’t help you.
How to network in the wedding industry today
Networking amongst your industry colleagues, other wedding people, like photographers, venue co-ordinators, planners, and others, is a vital part of being an active member of the wedding industry. For the longest time that’s why I went to wedding expos –...The Facebook opportunity
Facebook, owner of Facebook but also Instagram and WhatsApp, is pushing hard to get more advertisers on its platform. In last week’s earnings call they made two statements which stood out to me: “When we think about Instagram, we think we have a great...What should we do on social media? Part 3
A member asks When chatting with celebrants recently I heard again and again that most celebrants aren’t really that interested in following the general Instagram “best practice” advice that you see on social media blogs/podcasts. Most people a)...You don’t know what ‘word of mouth’ looks like
I wanted to share a story straight from my inbox today, to show you how word of mouth actually works and how your marketing efforts today pay off for years: I wanted to let you know how I’ve come across you… About two years ago we went to Queenstown for...What should we do on social media? Part 2
A member asks When chatting with celebrants recently I heard again and again that most celebrants aren’t really that interested in following the general Instagram “best practice” advice that you see on social media blogs/podcasts. Most people a)...What should we do on social media? Part 1
A member asks When chatting with celebrants recently I heard again and again that most celebrants aren’t really that interested in following the general Instagram “best practice” advice that you see on social media blogs/podcasts. Most people a)...A simple upgrade to your website and social media
A quick and easy weekend exercise for everyone today: read the front page of your website and your about page. Look at your recent social media posts and your bios on the networks. Are you talking about the product or the user?
The do’s and don’ts of email marketing
A pertinent question about building and maintain an email list today: For anyone looking to follow your example of maintaining “an email list of all couples I meet at expos, fairs, open days, along with all who enquire with me” and sending them a weekly newsletter – are there any legal considerations or permission issues (opt in/opt out) we need to consider? Is it fine to just add any email address to a newsletter database or is there particular wording we need to use in sourcing those addresses for that purpose? Cheers.
There’s two ways to provide a service
From the heart and soul of Seth Godin today, I’m copying and pasting this from his amazing blog for you today to chew on over how your provide your celebrancy service: Two ways to solve a problem and provide a service With drama. Make sure the customer knows...How to position your PA speaker for a wedding ceremony
Veronica asks: After reading this article and listening to the podcast “A tribute to the greatest episode in the world”, you mentioned speaker placement. Being a newbie to the industry, where would you suggest is the best place for the speaker so I majority can hear?
Increasing your enquiry conversion rate
A question today about enquiries and how to increase our conversion: I have a question about converting enquiries as I am finding that I get a good amount of enquiries but feel my conversion rate could be way better. Wondering what I could be doing better or is there something I am not doing? Is it the language I am using in my initial contact too passive or boring? Or maybe I am giving them too much information? I currently do not have my price on my website so I am guessing some of the enquiries I am not converting are due to that and for follow up I send out a very short follow up email to them a about a month after not hearing anything. How do I better communicate to my leads in the initial enquiry stage to “seel the deal” with me or at least book an initial catch up meeting. Would love some constructive feedback on my “first email” and “welcome letter” attachment that I send as my first contact.
How to get professional photos to share on your socials
A common conversation amongst everyone in the wedding industry who is not a wedding photographer is asking photographers for photos. It’s great when you get them, it means your social media feeds have a professional feel over an iPhone photo feel, and it’s...Five ways to make your ceremonies better
A recent Seth Godin post about presentations of the corporate/Microsoft Powerpoint kind, spurred me on to thinking about our presentation style as celebrants. My ceremony presentation style has it's roots in a) what I'm good at and b) what I like. Yours should too, so...Pricing on websites; to list or not to list??? Josh’s view
Ella asks: “Price points seem to be a hot topic everywhere… Would you recommend putting your fees on your website? Some celebrants display their price on their website, others don’t. Some also seem to provide services cheaper then a BDM wedding. Which poses that question that some people expect you to compete on price, they aren’t comparing the quality of service provided. Only the number they see on the page.” As Sarah noted, everyone has a different answer on this, and here is mine. Don’t count this post as the final word, it’s just a brain dump on a Wednesday afternoon. I’m sure this is a topic we’ll return to over and over, and I’d invite you to list your thoughts in the comments.
We don’t think you’re smart enough to get two emails in the one day
We recorded this episode on 6 July 2018, before Sarah had a chance to read the fact sheet from the AGD about the change in the one month’s notice period, so we don’t discuss that in the episode. Sarah will write more about that change soon; suffice to say...In praise of the not-young celebrant
I’ll never forget my very first wedding expo, where I arrived to the convention centre so green that I didn’t realise there was an expectation that I would design a booth. So we painted a board with blackboard paint and brought it to the expo, along with the required chalk, and with minutes to go until the expo doors opened I had to think of something to write.
How to protect the copyright of your ceremony scripts
Tenielle asks: Just a quick question about intellectual property of ceremony drafts. Hasn’t happened to me, but have heard of stories of celebrants issuing a draft ceremony for the clients to look over, and then that ceremony being taken by the couple to a cheaper celebrant. Don’t know how true it is, but it did get me thinking about my own Ts and Cs and about how I could best protect myself at the end of the day. Look, I know how easy it is to forward on a PDF or a Word Document and there’s stuff all we can do about it at the end of the day, but it’s just another aspect of this job that’s been on my mind a bit lately.
Get testimonies that matter
Celebrants offer such a personal service, your service is very different to mine, to every other member of this website, and the thousands of other celebrants available. We can communicate our differences in text and photos on our website, through blog and social...Tax deduction ideas for celebrants
It’s every business owner’s favourite time of the year: EOFYmas! As the End Of Financial Year celebrations takeover our lives I wanted to highlight the deductions I think we celebrants should be thinking of, and if you don’t have the record of these deductions from the past financial year, maybe try and keep them for this financial year.
I hope this goes without saying, but I’m not your accountant, I’m not the Australian Tax Office, and I’m not your mum, so make sure you run these things past those guys before taking my accounting advice as gospel. If you need an accountant, I can recommend mine but I’m sure there’s 100 within cat-swinging distance of your place.
Portable PA speaker system purchasing advice
Jo asks: Hey Josh, it’s one of your favourite subjects – P.A. systems. I am saving up for my first one, not even sure where to start but think my budget might stretch to $2k. Is that too little? Can you provide some options and good suppliers? Would love to hear your thoughts.
The only thing you can rely on in the wedding business
This afternoon a couple got engaged and they have never heard of you, they've not made any decisions about their wedding, and it's highly likely they don't know anything about the wedding industry, how it works, what things cost, and who does what. The only thing you...Maybe I’m incompetent?
The Celebrant Institute, this website, exists for celebrants who struggle with their competence. It’s ok, you’re not alone in thinking “maybe I could do better.” Marriage celebrancy is my full time job, it’s all I do, and more often than not I question how competent I am at running a business, providing for my family, performing marriage ceremonies. My encouragement to you today is that it’s ok, this is human, our brains hate us.
Podcast: I’ve watched celebrants read a newspaper
Thanks so much for having us in your ears again! This episode covers the following: Sarah’s experience performing Eurydice Dixon’s funeral IGTV Paperwork only, legals only, registry style wedding and the legalities surrounding them Copyright for marriage...Podcast: A tribute to the greatest episode
We know, we know, it’s been a long time since we were both in your ears together. We’re sorry and we’ll try to do better! We know you missed us, so we spent most of the episode talking about some major changes in the legalities of how we do our work: – changes...Podcast: Gay weddings are not a thing
As the introduction on the title address says gay-weddings are NOT a thing they are just weddings!! This podcast features Josh and Tara Baker who is one of the brains behind Dancing With Her a publication for LGBTQ+ women in love. Together Josh and Tara discuss a...We’re not so desperate anymore
Delivered with love and setting the tone for what was is to follow in this Podcast. Immersing their audience in a story is something both Josh and Sarah do because a well-told presentation will stick in their audience’s brain for years to come! 2:17:...Podcast: It’s the Mabo of the thing
We know it’s been a while, but welcome back to The Celebrant Talk Show! In this episode we’re responding to questions from you, our lovely listeners. Feel free to send us your questions by email to hello@celebrant.fm, or even record yourself asking us your question...I think I’ve already mentioned this on the podcast before
It’s been 7 weeks since marriage equality finally became a thing. We figured out that all people are actually just people…So what is the LGBTTQQIAAP alphabet soup? Today we take a detailed look at our systems and processes and hash out the customer journey we take...Imagine that you’re on a date with Facebook
It’s January – the traditional enquiries season for the wedding industry. Sarah and Josh reveal what their business focus is at the start of each year, and discuss in detail their process for dealing with an initial enquiry. 01.50 Marriage equality – following...All the stupid questions you’ve got about marriage equality
Marriage equality has come to Australia! Finally! And it came in like a wrecking ball, changing everything for marriage celebrants whilst also delivering equality, love, and compassion to a large part of our population. There’s so many questions to be asked...Top ten tips for new marriage celebrants
On this special episode, Josh dials in from California to chat with Sarah about their Top Ten Tips for new Celebrants, as requested by Emily. But there are some tips in here for all celebrants, new or not!
The one where we throw eggs at Sarah
Get your eggs ready folks, for once Sarah Aird says something controversial. Don’t worry though, anything she said is not as bad as whatever Josh has to say. This episode also dives deep into what price to charge your clients, and why? Everyone has an opinion on...Podcast: The only podcast officially banned by the AFCC!
Welcome to the only podcast that’s officially banned by the Australian Federation of Civil Celebrants. We’d like to thank our families and our industry colleagues for supporting us thus far! Seriously though, here’s another sweet podcast episode,...Podcast: Never seen paperwork fly like that
Two marriage celebrants with wedding hangovers bring you this November 6 episode of the Celebrant Talk Show, In follow-up Evie writes in on the topic of titles for the individuals booking celebrants, and Sean asks how does Josh sign marriage paperwork on an iPad....I’m not a scientist, it’s way above my pay-grade
Josh discovers that not everyone (no-one?) likes a rebrand; Sarah discusses how marriage equality will likely affect celebrants; and why both Josh and Sarah think telling people to kiss is a bit weird. Plus, the Marriage (Queensland) Arrangement 2017, why the marriage...We accidentally created a podcast
And so it begins. In the very first episode, Josh and Sarah discuss the change in the Conflict of Interest guidelines for marriage celebrants, and introduce the world to their very particular sets of skills; skills they’ve acquired over their celebrant careers;...
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