NSW re-opening rules for weddings
Everything you wanted to know about weddings in NSW!
How to start taking better photos at your weddings
An element of my social media content strategy I’m quite proud of is that I’ve really worked hard at making better photos, photos that I have made – and therefore own – so that I have photos and video for my own social media channels and blog. If you’re interested in pursuing that art as well, Josh Rose has written a really good guide that I think would help you. It’s aimed at taking better holiday photos, but the advice translates directly to weddings as well.
Vaccine mandates and weddings
Sorry, we don’t have the answers!
How to record the location of a marriage ceremony on the water or in the air
Lizzie asks: “My couple is getting married on a boat in The Pittwater located on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. Please advise how I best record the “at” on the docs for a wedding adrift.” The Guidelines to the Marriage Act, in relation to the place a wedding would occur, gives this poor advice: “The marriage must be registered in the state or territory where the marriage was solemnised. To meet this requirement, and possible requirements of other countries for recognition of the marriage, marriages in aircraft and ships at sea should be avoided.” I’m not going to say they’re wrong, but they’re not right. Australian authorised marriage celebrants have the authority and the ability to marry couples anywhere and at any time on any day within Australia and its territories.
The secret to having people share your social media posts
When you hear of social media posts going viral, it simply means people are sharing it. They're tagging their friends in the comments, sharing the post by direct message, and adding to the algorithm that decides who sees what on the internet. There's books worth of...
How to get your couples to reply to your emails
If you’ve ever played the iconic Australian schoolyard game of handball, you’ll remember that the aim of the game is to intercept the ball on your quadrant/half, then to get it back out as soon as possible. Think about your customer journey and email like a game of handball.
Build my own website or pay a pro? Build a business brand or a personal brand?
Suzanne asks: “Looking for advice on professional web design v. self design. Objective to attract biz, be good return on investment and not rubber-stamp like. Also some good advice on logo vs personal service brand.” Two important questions here and they’re both worth addressing.
Writing prompts for social media and blogging
The Copywriting Course’s subject line generator might be just the gold mine you need to start writring that next blog posts, social media post, or recording that vlog or podcast.
Questions to ask your couples for your review or testimony
Jason Fried has posted a list of questions he asks referees he calls for new employees. I read through the list and thought that it would be equally impressive to see our clients answer some or all of these questions in their reviews. Shape the questions so they serve you, but instead of asking for a plain old review, try asking your couples a question and ask them to share it as a Google, Facebook, or other form of review.
Be vulnerable about your growth intentions to actually grow
A study has found that adding copy to a new app's website around the lines of "we expect 1000 users to join this year" increased signups for the app by 20%. People respond to the developer's expectations and intentions of the app's growth because those intentions were...
Say, do you remember? Dancing (with new forms) in September?
September 2021 is bringing us new marriage forms, and to be sure that we don’t confuse things, let me quote from the Attorney-General office email sent today. If you haven’t received it, check your spam folder and then tell your email client it isn’t spam, it’s the boss.
Should we charge more or differently for public holidays?
Continuing a long running series on this website starting with how your price is part of your marketing story, whether or not you should list your prices on your website with answers from Sarah and myself, how to respond when someone asks "how much?", how to be...
JPs witnessing the NOIM via audio visual link – NOT ALLOWED
As you all know, the Marriage Act 1961 requires that the Notice of Intended Marriage is signed in the presence of one of the authorised witnesses. In the presence of means physical presence: the person signing and the witness need to be physically in the same room....
What does your profile photo say about you?
If you’ve taken our branding advice before, you’re using the same headshot profile photo for your social media accounts and your website, and anywhere else you can upload an identifying photo, avatar, logo. But do you know how it’s performing for your brand and marketing?
Three practical ways to increase your price
I’m not backwards in coming forwards about celebrants raising their price. I’ve given a number of good reasons in the past, but as lockdowns and travel bans continue to fuel the bonfire that is the state of the wedding industry today I was inspired by the idea that we, the wedding industry need not bare the burden that is wedding postponements, we are not wedding insurers, we are professional creatives. We are not wedding insurance. That’s not to diminish your want and desire to be generous and kind to your clients, be that, and more, but you are not their wedding insurance. Their wedding being postponed should not bankrupt you. So assuming you’re already ready to raise your price, if not read this, here’s three practical ways you can increase your price today.
We’re not going to charge you more money, it’s ok
We're tired, and we know you are all tired too. In this episode we catch up on each other's news, and chat about value (and how it's difficult to articulate!) and how OPD is going in 2021. Welcome to another episode of the Celebrant Talk Show podcast. Listen in the...
Legalities for parties who are vision impaired
Tania asks: I have an enquiry from a couple, one party is Visually Impaired. They would have the some of my 'Welcome Kit' translated to Braille, including the NOIM, DONLIM, OCM and Form 15. Therefore, I am comfortable that the party would be aware of what they will...
7 Insurances celebrants should have
A member has asked about whether the Celebrant Institute membership includes insurance. It doesn’t, and we’ll be honest with you, that’s because we reached out to a bunch of insurance brokers and insuring you lot in such a general way turned out to be so expensive and hard, that it wouldn’t be worth it for you, or for us, to offer such a broad stroke of insurance, when each of your businesses are so unique and personal.
So here’s the seven insurances I think every wedding celebrant should at least consider, and of course you need to do your own research and consider your own circumstances.
Please note that this is general information only and should not replace financial or professional insurance advice. Talk to a licensed insurance broker, business advisor or insurer for detailed advice.
None of this information has been influenced by an outside business and we have received no payments or discounts for offering this information.
Wise words about reviews, for Billy Joel and wedding celebrants
I've got a confession to make: I can recall every single bad review I've had, and I barely remember the good ones. There's one I received while I was in Washington DC in 2015, a few days before I was about to speak at the International Association of Wedding...
The thing about all of your social media followers
Whether you've got 10 or 10,000 followers across all the different social media channels, it's almost certainly true for all of them: less than 3% of your audience is ready to book a celebrant, hopefully you, right now. 7% of your audience needs a bit more information...
How and why you should position your speaker at a wedding
Many celebrants don’t know the science and method behind choosing where to position their speaker in a ceremony. This video will take you through the basic elements of choosing where and why and how to position your speaker, and one thing I didn’t note in the recording is that you want it up on a speaker stand at standing head height, you need those audio waves to be able to reach everyone’s ears and if the speaker is on the ground, people past the first row will be struggling.
I’ve gone to court for cancelled covid weddings, and lived to tell the story
At the time of writing I personally have attended four court mediation sessions, and two court hearings. Theses are my stories. Dum dum. Ok, enough of the Law and Order jokes, but I am in the middle of a bunch of law suits and I figured that you, my fellow celebrants, would like to hear the stories, and hopefully you can learn from them. What follows is in no way to be considered legal advice, I am not a lawyer, and the advice given to me by my lawyer is confidential. The stories shared are personal anecdotes that would hopefully encourage you to engage with a lawyer.
A week’s worth of content prompts for your blog or social media
If you’re feeling a bit stuck on what to post on your blog, or social media, or both, here’s seven content ideas you can easily write right now. Then schedule them up to drop every day, and watch your online personal brand grow!
Are you ready if someone tries to hack you and steal your client’s personal data
Reading the news today about the meat manufacturer that paid up $11 million in ransom to cybercriminals after having its business shutdown over a hack recently, my mind turned to celebrants.
I hold grave fears that any day now there’s going to be an Australian marriage celebrant breached by a hacker, and all of their clients’ NOIM, Marriage Certificate, Passport, Divorce, Drivers License, details will be leaked, stolen, sold.
“The truth is most of your followers won’t see what you share” on Instagram
Instagram has shared a post today about how and why people see what they see on Instagram. I’m not going to speculate on how much of this is smoke and mirrors, or politics, or conspiracy theories. Instead, lets take them at their word and believe what they say.
You can read the whole report here, and I’ll share some excerpts and thoughts on it below.
You should charge more, and here’s 10 reasons why
Mel is struggling with mapping out her pricing as a celebrant, and when she mentioned it to me I went straight to a conversation I had with my brother earlier today. He’s looking at starting a new business based on professional skills he holds, and he was looking for some guidance walking into the project. So I’ll tell you what I told him, then give you ten good reasons why you should charge more.
How to be “out there” and trust the process
Krystal asks: “I seek perhaps some advice on how I continue to be “out there” without sailing into the boring seas or moving into sharing content on social media that isn’t relevant. Maybe I need to be patient with the process, once my first wedding is over and I’ll feed my future marketing off that.”
Advanced OPD topic on how to skin a rabbit
After a six month break from podcasting because our world's got crazy and busy, we talk about what was keeping us busy. Namely, reschedules and postponements and cancellations of weddings, and how that's affecting the whole industry. Plus we go over our 2021 OPD -...
It’s time to change the one month notice period to one week
To my fellow celebrants, I have a proposal regarding the one month notice period, and I’d like to run it up your flagpole, so to speak, and then take it to the Australian parliament: that the one month notice period required by the Marriage Act, be reduce to one week.
What are the celebrant’s COVID-Safe obligations in NSW?
A celebrant asks: RE NSW weddings Covid sign in is doing my head in. Until recently I've asked couples to create their own Safety Plan(via https://www.nsw.gov.au/form/covid-safety-plan/wedding-ceremonies-and-receptions) to cover the ceremony, and reception too...
Our 1st Birthday Competition
One year ago today Sarah Aird took over the reins of Life Skills Training, and this year we relaunched as the Celebrant Institute RTO with the contract to provide ongoing professional development for Australian civil celebrants, alongside the Certificate IV in Celebrancy, the cornerstone qualification required to become a celebrant.
Managing marriage documentation after death of a celebrant
When a celebrant dies, what happens to their marriage documentation?
12 months defending wedding industry disputes due to covid
I thought I would spend this fine morning outlining some of the things that I have learned over the course of the last 12 months when it comes to disputes in the wedding industry due to the Coronavirus and COVID-19. Here they are: Suppliers have not experienced a raft...
Facebook’s a bit salty at us
After posting a guide on making sure you and your business is prepared if and when the Facebook ban hammer falls on you, the Facebook ban hammer fell on us.
If Facebook shuts your page down, are you prepared?
Your Facebook page, Instagram page, Google My Business account, your LinkedIn, and god forbid any of you have a Parler account, but they’re all not your property. Running your business on the back of those properties is like going to your local cafe and setting up shop at a table. Putting up a little sign with Married By John Citizen on it, and accepting meetings and enquiries there. It might be ok for the longest period of time (thanks for hosting me, Sisterhood Coffee), but at any time that business owner can ask you to leave and not come back.
How is OPD different in 2021?
If you’ve read your emails from the AGD recently, or heard rumours around the ol’ celebrancy water cooler, you might be a little confused about what is happening with ongoing professional development in 2021.
Survey on the future of OPD
New OPD consultation survey out now: please respond!
Quick way to complete the Certificate IV in Celebrancy
A friend asks me today what the quickest way is to complete the Cert IV in Celebrancy, the qualification needed to become a celebrant in Australia. Friends of my friend reckon she’d be a great celebrant and they’d like her to marry them.
Where to focus on your celebrancy in 2021
It's been a weird year behind us as a wedding industry. I don't want to dwell on it for fear of crying, but I'm of the belief that sometime soon we need to focus our energies forward, and I wanted to encourage you to do the same, with a framework that answers a big...
How to accept crypto currencies for your work
A celebrant has written in to the Celebrant Institute asking the question: “How can I, and should I, accept crypto currency for celebrancy?”
Ultimate Guide to Creating Automation For Your Customer Journey
I recently spoke via video at the Wedding Business CEO Summit and spoke on the process of creating a customer journey. My talk was called There’s A Fraction Too Much Friction: Automation For Your Customer Journey. I believe this is an important and valuable topic for all wedding business people to get in their life, and I’m so glad I get to share it with Celebrant Institute members.
Acknowledgement of Country in our weddings
First Australians have been marrying for thousands of years on the land we now call Australia. Terra Australis, the southern land, was home to people well before the Dutch or the British “discovered” it, so as much as Australian law requires us to identify that we the celebrants are authorised to marry people according to Australian law, common decency would see us acknowledge the truth of the land we stand on to create ceremony.
How to get couples to book you as their celebrant
“I’ve a question about that first meeting – I’ve met a few couples, tried coming from different angles ie. Asking what they have in mind for their ceremony, how they met, build rapport, let them talk or I do most of the talking – introducing myself and how I help them with my process and system. Have not sealed the deal. What do you recommend as discussion points for the first meeting, for high chances of booking soon after?”
What if Google didn’t exist?
Google, in light of legislation being introduced in Australia, has threatened to pull out of the Australian market. I’m sure they won’t, if only because they won’t walk away and leave $59 billion of income on the table and destroy the trust in their brand over a couple of dollars being paid to news organisations.
Be the CEO your wedding celebrant business needs you to be
It’s time to life up our heads from managing, or surviving, in our wedding celebrancy business, and to actually lead our businesses to a place where they bring us joy and happiness again.
026 Social Media Challenge: It’s not about you today
Social media, and humanity in general, can become a little bit self-indulgent at times. It’s our tribal, animalistic nature, to look after one’s self first. But something beautiful happens when you turn the camera away from yourself, when you shift the spotlight onto someone else.
025 Social Media Challenge: Meme me baby
Your challenge today is to create an entertaining meme. Not an educational meme, or an instructional meme, or a demonstratable meme. Today we meme for fun.
024 Social Media Challenge: Can I answer you a question?
Today’s challenge is a little more casual after some intense training days, and it’s about Quora.
023 Social Media Challenge: The writing game
Today your challenge is to write non-stop for five minutes.
022 Social Media Challenge: You can ASCII me anything
In the beginning there was the text, and the text was good. It was all we knew. We called it ASCII, ASCII codes represent text in computers. When I first used a personal computer in 1991 “computer graphics” were mostly just text in the shape of graphics, like this was a ¯\_(ツ)_/¯: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. And despite us inventing all of the great technologies that allow us to view videos, blogs, photos, and the rest online, in today’s challenge, we’re sticking with the original: text.
The best tablet computer for celebrants, is it the reMarkable?
For almost the past three years an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil has been my computer that left the home. I’d always loved a Mac but I predominantly left that at my desk and if I left the office for a marriage ceremony, a meeting, a photoshoot or for travel, I would take my iPad Pro.
I’ve written the story of how that’s no longer the case on my personal blog. It’s a two parter, the first part is introducing a new Apple Silicon Macbook Air which replaces my previous MacBook in speed and power, along with replacing my iPad Pro’s portability, responsiveness, and ability to run iOS apps.
021 Social Media Challenge: Charting the course
Here’s a chart that tells a story about my business. Before you read on or scroll, what story do you think it’s telling?
020 Social Media Challenge: Josh’s Wheeeeeelllll of Content
Today you get a rare and direct peek into my brain. This next diagram explains how I think about content.
How to name your celebrant business
David Placek is the branding genius behind some of the biggest names in the technology world. The words Sonos, Intel Pentium, Apple PowerBook, Blackberry, Gimlet podcasts (home of Reply All), and the Impossible burger, all came from David’s branding company, Lexicon Branding. In 2014 Placek released a book which I’d love to read – but can’t find for purchase. Luckily for me, and for you, Om Malik recapped the book in his blog recently.
019 Social Media Challenge: Combine the five
We’re on the home stretch in this social media challenge, and you guys are absolutely nailing the challenge to the wall, good work!
How to collect wedding guest information for your own COVIDSafe requirements
Many governments are requiring people running events to collect data about who attends the event using QR codes and web forms. Your legal responsibilities regarding COVID and COVIDSafe plans are your responsibility and this article in no way communicates what you must do regarding COVID and any safety plans. But if you need to collect data about people attending a wedding or funeral you are attending, this is a quick and easy way of doing it safely and responsibly.
018 Social Media Challenge: Create demonstrating content
I started this little streak of content prompts highlighting the fact that there five different kinds of good content. This is the fifth: demonstratable content.
017 Social Media Challenge: Let me, entertain you!
Today’s challenge, once more without stipulation of network or medium, is to entertain us.
016 Social Media Challenge: Inspire us
Today’s challenge is to mentally stimulate us, to make us feel something, something creative, beautiful, and hearty. Today’s challenge, as is the theme in this current swing of content, can go on any network/s of your choosing, in any medium/s. Just inspire us. Here's...
015 Social Media Challenge: Be educational
Good morning students! Today you’re all teachers and we’re taking your audience back to school.
014 Social Media Challenge: Be relevant
There are five different kinds of good content. Before you click post on anything, ever, forever, it should be at least one. If it’s two, you might get a like, three and you’re having a party, four and you just put a hashtag in front of the word winning.
013 Social Media Challenge: Who do you love?
Today’s challenge is 98% in your hands, 1% in the calendar’s hands, and 1% from me.
012 Social Media Challenge: Something beautiful
Ansel Adams said that we don’t take a photograph, we make it. Your challenge today is to make a photo, a beautiful photo, a photo you’re proud of, that you’d be happy to see hanging in my lounge room. It can’t be just any photo though, we want it to be made of...
011 Social Media Challenge: A day in the life of …
One of my favourite uses of Instagram’s Story feature is to document the behind the scenes of what I’m doing. I see a number of benefits to the occasional behind the scenes personal documentary.
Was the tinsel an acknowlegement?
After meeting with the Marriage Law and Celebrants Section of the Attorney-General's Department, Josh and Sarah bring you all the updates to marriage forms, OPD in the years ahead, signing NOIMs online, plus we've got some helpful tips on social media content and live...
010 Social Media Challenge: Let’s take the conversation to 11
Today we’re taking that controversial thought in your mind, and we’re turning it all the way up to [eleven, Spinal Tap style].
009 Social Media Challenge: Your genesis story
Today’s challenge is an easy one, you already know everything about it, the key to the challenge though is 1. Articulating it, 2. Telling it, and 3. Sharing it to as many mediums as possible
Today we’re telling your genesis story, the story of how you started, why you started, and how you felt you could do something important and different.
Are you a workaholic?
It's a weird world in 2020, one where our workload has significantly decreased, yet in other less familiar ways, our workload has increased dramatically with postponements, court dates, cancellations, emails, sending many of us into a spiral of lots more work that...
008 Social Media Challenge: Beat your own drum and testify
If someone speaks well of you, you’ve got to remember that, embed it deep into your soul, and know that you’re good at this.
And once you’ve done that you need to share that testimony
There’s a whole philosophy behind referrals and testimonies, but I’m not sharing them today, because I’m not a psychologist; I’m just a boy, standing in front a celebrant, asking them to testify! Testimonies about how you are good at what you do, and you do it in a certain way that makes a certain kind of person happy.
007 Social Media Challenge: Blog a common reply
In computer programming there’s a method of program called Object Oriented Programming, which recognises that some parts of the program are reused a lot. The programmers write the code once, then reuse it every time they need it.
006 Social Media Challenge: Nutella Day
Who would ever think that there would be a need for an [International Day for Nutella] to raise awareness of the delicious nutty goodness? Sara Rosso did.
005 Social Media Challenge: Let’s get podcasting
Podcasts are so much more powerful than most people imagine. My little podcast, [The Rebel’s Guide to Getting Married], has maybe…
004 Social Media Challenge: Reuse and recycle
I’m willing to bet that you have received a question about what you do before today, and you’ve hit reply with a really good answer.
OPD in 2021 is changing
For your ongoing professional development as a Commonwealth authorised marriage celebrant in 2021, only four hours will be provided by your OPD trainer. One hour of your five hour commitment will be delivered by the Marriage Law and Celebrants Section of the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department.
Tasmania (BDM) gets the internet
Sarah chats to Tasmanian celebrant Kathleen Pavlic-Ryan about the brand new online registration system available through Births, Deaths, and Marriages Tasmania!
Moving a wedding from Queensland to New South Wales
Luke asks: One of my couples that had a Qld wedding booked, now want to change the ceremony location to NSW since the new border easing. What do I need to know and how do I go about doing a wedding in NSW? Is there a set criteria that determines the couples eligibility for getting married over the border into NSW?
003 Social Media Challenge: Carrot Cake
Today’s challenge is to find something boring (like a carrot) yet necessary (like vegetables are for your diet) in your business
002 Social Media Challenge: Introduce Yourself
Every month you should re-introduce yourself to your social media audience. I think you’d be surprised how many don’t really know you for the real “you”, and those that do, could probably do with a brand re-alignment.
Creating elopement packages
A reader asks: “I have a handful of elopement related questions, and I think they will be more relevant than ever given how our world has changed in 2020 and how weddings have changed/will change in the coming year(s).
What if you’re not available for re-scheduled wedding?
Michael asks: Just listened to the podcast episode (with Kathryn Adams), absolutely loved it. I have one common question/scenario that I’m pretty sure wasn’t asked/answered though. A couple postpones their wedding, but one of the suppliers isn’t available on the new date that the couple chooses. Where does that supplier stand in regard to retaining the booking fee? Or anything that needs to be discussed in this situation?
001 Social Media Challenge: Lemonade
Making lemonade out of lemons is a popular story, obviously backed by Big Lemonade, but it encourages us to make our proverbial lemonade out of the lemons we’re presented with in life. For day one of the 2020 social media challenge, your job today is to find a story...
Should I use a speaker stand, and should I use a PA for 10 guests?
Tam asks: I have my first wedding coming up next month. My question is in regards to using my PA system. I have Bose S1 with Sennheiser microphone. The wedding is only small (approximately 10 guests). Would you use a PA system? They are having a videographer so I didn’t know if this would play into whether or not to use it? If you suggest not using it, at what size wedding would you? Also I have not yet brought a stand. Is this an absolute must/do you recommend any particular brand/price point to aim for to get a decent one? Complete newbie with all this stuff!
All good questions, Tamika, and I’ll address them separately.
Correcting marriage paperwork
There’s a new fact sheet on the Attorny-General’s department website on correcting marriage paperwork, and it’s an important read. Luckily for us, our own Sarah Aird heavily impacted the final draft. We’re copying and pasting the fact sheet here, but find the original on the AGD website.
Do our social media challenge
I’m writing a social media challenge for Celebrant Institute members to see out 2020…
If you have a non refundable deposit
An Australian wedding celebrant directory recently emailed it’s members guilt-tripping them into keeping non-refundable deposits. What a guy.
The one in a hotel room with a lawyer
After five months of fighting for wedding vendors affected by COVID-19 lockdowns, cancellations, postponements, delays, booking fees, deposits, contracts, and the wasteland that is the wedding industry in August 2020, Kathryn from Hallet Law joins the podcast to talk about it all, and about her new service contract product.
Where should we get clients to review us?
Gail asks: Sooo… your couple love you and want to leave a review! Where is the best place/s for them leave this review to really market your business and what links would you send them?
A marriage celebrant must call themselves a marriage celebrant, and other obligations
I’m sure that all of you have familiarised yourself with the Marriage Act of 1961, so you probably don’t have to read this, but on the off chance that Sarah Aird has schooled you, like she’s just schooled me, on some things in the Marriage Act, I thought I’d share them here. These are new changes since marriage equality was legislated. Today we’re talking about section 39G, Obligations of each marriage celebrant.
Replying to new wedding enquiries with Bonjoro
A Celebrant Institute member was listening to back catalogue episodes of the Celebrant Talk Show and found one where I mentioned that my sales process involved potential couples requesting an information pack from my website and a automated email would be sent to them...
Seth Godin on selling your time
Seth Godin today writing about charging per hour, something I still see celebrants do. I wrote about the same topic a year ago so it’s nice to have beat Seth Godin to something for once.
You don’t have to do everything
A celebrant enquired today about a couple who wanted to do a live stream of their wedding to family in Europe, but the celebrant didn’t know where to start or what to do. I thought it was a good prompt for me to remind celebrants of what we do have to do, and what we don’t have to do.
222 reasons you need to secure your domain name for the love of God, please just do it
222 reasons why professionally operating marriage celebrants should secure their domain name registrar account and make sure their domain name is on auto renew.
Live streaming a wedding, and what about the music copyright?
A member asks: Am I correct in assuming that couple's cannot live stream their marriage ceremony given music copyright issues? So there's a few issues to address in this one short question. The first is responsibility. If you as the celebrant are not responsible for...
How to lodge marriage documents electronically with the ACT BDM
The Births, Deaths, and Marriages in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria, all have their own online systems for logging in online and submitting marriage paperwork electronically. The Australian Capital Territory BDM doesn’t have an online system, but they do accept via email.
Sarah’s gear – a video
A video showing you all the gear I use for weddings!
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