Basic accounting and financial management for celebrants
A celebrant reached out recently with a query that sparked me thinking about how well we're all managing our finances. They emailed me asking if they were still a paying member of the Celebrant Institute. Ironically, the simplest way to find this out would have been...
Just a bunch of gibberish + legislation + quiet wedding industry times
In this episode of The Celebrant Talk Show, hosts Josh Withers and Sarah Aird discuss the current state of the wedding industry and the impact of COVID-19, inflation, and the “engagement gap” on wedding businesses. They also provide an update on the Attorney-General’s Portfolio Miscellaneous Measures Bill 2023, which includes amendments that would allow for remote witnessing of notices of intended marriage. However, the bill has been delayed in the Senate due to controversy over unrelated amendments to the Native Title Act.
Marketing yourself as a new celebrant
Silvia asks: I really want to find out how to start a website when you haven't done any weddings yet. I've looked at many celebrant's websites and find myself overwhelmed. Starting out can be hard, but rest assured, everyone started at zero so it's a journey worth...
Public speaking skills you can learn from Steve Jobs and John Mulaney
As a wedding celebrant, our role is pivotal in creating a memorable experience for couples on their special day. Public speaking is an integral part of this role, and there's much to learn from seasoned speakers across different fields. Let's delve into the insights...
2024’s Ongoing Professional Development topics are now available
Our friends in Canberra emailed all Aussie celebrants with the good news that our OPD - our ongoing professional development obligation - is now online on the Marcel Portal. The department is delivering the two (2) activities free of charge and they are set out in the...
Card Buddy, your new ceremony writing app
I've described my ceremony preparation and writing style before as a series of "bits", much like how a comedian will assemble a show from their jokes and bits, I'll assemble a ceremony together much the same. So when I saw Card Buddy being reviewed in issue 110 of...
Engagement ring sales in 2023 explain the 2024 dip in enquiries
Explaining the 2024 dip in wedding enquiries and bookings, or the shortening of planning time, Shane references a New York Times article which references the investors letter from the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewellery, Signet.
Science proves: quick reply means a positive impression
A new study finds that the later we meet someone in a sequence, the more negatively we describe them. The research finds that unconscious bias could disadvantage people who happen to be evaluated later in a sequence, whether it's job applicants, contestants on a...
The state of the wedding industry, according to the 2024 Easy Weddings survey
The Easy Weddings 2024 Australian Wedding Industry Report provides an overview of the state of the wedding industry from the point of view of Easy Weddings and its 4,200 engaged and newlywed couples that completed the survey, input from nearly 600 wedding businesses,...
Learn from WeddingWire’s annual report WeddingPro report
The 2023 WeddingPro Benchmarking Report offers a comprehensive look into the current state of the American wedding industry, focusing on the challenges and strategies wedding professionals use to grow their businesses. It's important to note that this report is...
On Sanebox, and how I learned to love my inbox again
I love my email inbox. That's not something many people can say today. But I really do. I do my business there which provides for my family, plus I subscribe to so many interesting and important email letters there, so it's a source of income, entertainment, and joy...
Charissa and Scott got up real high in their wedding
In this episode of the Insights podcast episode - can - Josh interviews...
Take payments directly on your phone – no card reader!
A Celebrant Institute member was asking a question of us this week and mentioned taking payment in person. Sarah offered the correct advice that she might want to consider getting a Square card reader that you connect to your phone over Bluetooth so you can take...
Insights from Madelin and Jeremy’s wedding
Drawing directly from the insights provided in the Insights podcast episode one with Madelin - - here are the refined business development strategies for Insights members: Enhance...
Madelin and Jeremy’s Frogmore Creek wedding
Madelin and Jeremy had no idea how much Sue would cost but they were prepared to pay whatever Sue would cost because they were set on her without even knowing her fee.
What return did I see from a $20k advertising investment last year?
Coming back into full-time celebrancy in 2023 I knew that the industry had changed, the celebrant population had changed, and the couples booking weddings were not just different but they had different means and ways of identifying which celebrant was the best for them, so I spent $20,000 on marketing.
The Photographer, The Dress, and The Celebrant
How one brand new celebrant was treated terribly by other vendors, and my recommendations for the future
Interstate online BDM systems
Sutha asks: I am registered in NSW, but will be getting a close friend married in Melbourne. Can I get access to BDM RIO? or is it limited to Victorian celebrants? A blog post about all the different electronic lodgement systems and who can have access to it will be...
On paying for a NSW Official Certificate of Marriage
Lifelink was a controversial project, first proposed in 2002, it cost almost $50 million to bring it to life, but one of the small blessings it brought was surety to celebrants that the marriage was registered properly, and then we could order certificates for our couples.
When can a celebrant marry a couple overseas and without a NOIM?
Did you know that in a very specific circumstance a certain kind of celebrant can marry a certain kind of couple in a country that isn't Australia - and it's all allowed by Australian law, plus it's a valid Australian marriage? Out of the current (2021) Guidelines on...
New “stuff” to include in your wedding ceremonies
I would like “new stuff” to include in my ceremonies.
Be exceptional
If your celebrant offering, your service, the thing you're selling, is the same as everyone else's, or appears the same, or you portray it as the same, then potential clients will look for the lowest price. Raise your rates. Create demand. Separate yourself from the...
Report of the Senate Inquiry into the AG Portfolio Miscellaneous Measure Bill 2023
As mentioned in previous posts, the Bill containing amendments to the Marriage Act was referred to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee for review before being passed. The Celebrant Institute was pleased to make a submission to this...
What is every other Australian celebrant charging in 2024?
In January we asked Australian celebrants to complete a survey. Of the 10,339 authorised marriage celebrants in Australia, 297 responded, giving us a 2.87% response rate, and this is our analysis of the survey results.
Tori Brown’s Path to Passion and Purpose
In this enlightening episode of the Celebrant Talk Show, host Josh Withers delves into the captivating world of new celebrants with guest Tori Brown from Grace and Soul Celebrancy. A recent graduate of the Certificate IV in Celebrancy at the Celebrant Institute, Tori...
Musician-Turned-Celebrant: Ryan’s Story
Welcome to another engaging episode of the Celebrant Talk Show, where we explore the diverse journeys of newly authorised celebrants in Australia. Today, I, Josh Withers, have the pleasure of hosting Ryan Enright from Paper Hearts, a Melbourne-based wedding musician...
Journey to Joy: Rachel Ivy McDermott-Magrath’s Celebrant Adventure
Welcome to another enriching episode of the Celebrant Talk Show, where we delve into the inspiring journeys of those who've embarked on the path of becoming a celebrant. Today's episode features Rachel Ivy McDermott-Magrath, known professionally as "The Ivy Aisle,"...
Our submission to the Senate Inquiry into the AG Portfolio Miscellaneous Measure Bill 2023
As mentioned in an update to my article about the Bill containing amendments to the Marriage Act that went to Parliament late last year, the Celebrant Institute was asked to make a submission to a Senate Inquiry into the Bill. As I said in this update, basically the...
Create a rabbit hole for your couples to “fall” down
Create a rabbit hole for your couples to fall down so they fall in love with you!
The right (and new) form to use when you have an interpreter at a wedding
The Attorney-General's Department's Marriage Law and Celebrants Section announces a significant update: a new Certificate of Faithful Performance by Interpreter. This change and changed form for 2024, results from modifications to Commonwealth Statutory Declarations,...
Fresh Faces in Celebrancy: Melissa Edwards’ Energetic Entry
In this vibrant episode of the Celebrant Talk Show, host Josh Withers welcomes the enthusiastic Melissa Edwards, a newly minted celebrant who completed her Certificate IV in Celebrancy with the Celebrant Institute. As part of our series on fresh celebrants, Melissa...
Marriage law reform and change in 2024
Rounding out my 2024 prediction series of blog posts we know for sure that change is on the horizon for the old Marriage Act of 1961. This article is going to be simple so the point is made clearly. Clear is kind I heard someone say this week, so this article, written...
Weddings are getting smaller and more intentional
I am excited to forecast that 2024 will be hailed as the year of the intentional wedding. This is a shift that has been brewing for a while but is now taking center stage. It's a trend that aligns perfectly with our ethos at the Celebrant Institute – the belief in...
Prices are going up: 2024 is the year for your price to go up
As wedding celebrants, we've weathered the storm of the pandemic, continuing to offer our cherished services amidst unprecedented challenges. However, it's time to acknowledge a critical aspect of our business that many of us have overlooked since before the pandemic:...
Red-team your celebrant business
With new celebrants entering the market every month, your marketing, sales, enquiry, and booking process need as much attention as your ceremony production and delivery do. I want to introduce the concept of red-teaming to your business. You've probably heard of...
AI can allow you to express yourself meaningfully
In the evolving world of wedding planning, the role of a celebrant is continually transforming. Today's celebrants are not just facilitators of a ceremony; they are storytellers, advisors, and now, thanks to Artificial Intelligence (AI), they are becoming content...
The rise of the expert and the death of “whatever you want”
Go to any wedding celebrant's website and there's a 50% chance that somewhere on the front page they'll say something like "your wedding your way" which is lovely and kind. Of course, the customer is always right as Harry Gordon Selfridge taught us, but the customer...
Social networking is getting small while social media is going big time
The digital era is witnessing a significant transformation in how we connect, communicate, and consume content. In the realm of social networking and media, a paradigm shift is underway. Traditional social networking is increasingly migrating to more intimate spaces...
Blogging is coming back!
In 1997 the term “web log” was shortened to blog and ever since common people like you and I have had the power to write and publish on the internet. For the longest time it was the only way you shared your mission, your life, your opinion, your story.
How to Celebrate and Not Hyperventilate with Megan
Embark on a celebrant's journey with Megan Studman and Josh Withers in the Celebrant Talk Show! From certification to conducting her first wedding, Megan's story is a fascinating dive into the world of celebrancy. Learn about the challenges and joys of becoming a...
From Dietitian to ‘I Do’s, a new celebrant’s story
In this episode of the Celebrant Talk Show, Josh Withers interviews Amy McNeilly, a recent graduate from the Celebrant Institute. Amy, who works as a clinical dietician, pursued celebrancy to engage more with people, inspired by a celebrant she admired. The training...
MLCS & celebrant associations/networks meeting 6 December 2023
Josh and I spent Wednesday in Canberra at the biannual meeting between the Marriage Law & Celebrants Section (MLCS) of the Attorney-General's Department and repesentatives of the celebrant associations and networks. I'm delighted to report it was actually...
Meet a Certificate IV in Celebrancy graduate, Lachie Grisold
In this exciting episode of the Celebrant Institute's Celebrant Talk Show podcast, join your host, Josh Withers, as he continues his series of insightful interviews with recent graduates and new celebrants. This episode features a conversation with Lachlan "Lachie"...
Marriage statistics 2022
It's marriage statistics release day, which as many of you know is my favourite nerdy day of the year! So here's my annual rundown of the marriage statistics for 2022. You know how in Victoria in particular we were all run off our feet catching up with all the COVID...
Exciting news regarding remote witnessing of NOIMs!
Yesterday, 15 November 2023, an omnibus bill was presented to Parliament that included a number of proposed amendments to the Marriage Act 1961. Important: this bill has not yet been passed by either house, so the amendments are not yet law. They are still proposals...
Portable PA speaker system purchasing advice for celebrants in 2024
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.
Embracing DMARC: A Must-Do for Celebrants
With the digital sphere becoming more integral to our work, it’s crucial we stay abreast of changes that impact how we connect with our couples and our industry. Today, I want to demystify a term that’s been floating around and is about to become even more significant: DMARC.
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.
How to get featured in the media
If you've ever heard my story of going full-time as a wedding celebrant you can skip the next three paragraphs. I'd already been plugging away at celebrancy, not getting quite as much traction as one would like, for four years. One year earlier I'd done my first...
Collecting email addresses at a wedding fair with a QR code and ChatGPT
Luke emailed me yesterday as I was about to solve for myself the problem he identified: What software would you recommend to use for a marketing list? Again are there any zaps or workflows in setting up the marketing list?
Great question Luke! I’ve been toying around in this realm for a while and have regrettably landed on the most expensive solution around: Active Campaign. I’m going to show you how I created a Zapier zap to collect email addresses at a wedding fair and get ChatGPT to send each person an email instantly after they scanned the QR code and entered their email address. It was such a smooth and professional workflow, I’m really happy with it. But before I show you how I created that I want to talk about email marketing for a moment. Email marketing is amazing and horrible. It’s amazing because people who identify with you and how you roll can and will give you their email address, and you have the opportunity to bring value back to their inbox via marketing emails. It’s horrible because trying to land in someone’s actual email inbox and not their spam folder is an arduous exercise that even yours truly finds hard, and tiring, and annoying. So you’ll try the cheaper products, then you’ll try MailChimp, and the rest of them, and marketing folklore tells us that if you are serious about this you end up on Active Campaign. so that’s where I am. Whenever someone enquires with me, books with me, or if I interact with them at an open day or wedding fair, that email address heads into my Active Campaign contacts list and I try my hardest to bring them immense value and joy. Not spam. So let’s have a look at this zap to collect emails at a wedding fair.
So You Want to Marry Your Friends or Family: The Real Costs and Alternatives to Becoming a Celebrant
Are you thinking about becoming a marriage celebrant just to officiate at your friends’ weddings? That’s a beautiful sentiment, but there’s a lot you need to know and consider before taking this route.
Authenticity and honesty as a celebrant
Be yourself as a celebrant, authentic, honest, and open, and you’ll attract clients who are just like you, making your life a whole lot easier!
Why the World Looks to Australia for Wedding Industry Inspiration: 50 years of Celebrancy
To celebrate fifty years of the Marriage Celebrants program in Australia, Josh Withers looks at how the movement has moved the entire industry forward.
How to use ChatGPT to sent instant replies to wedding enquiries
If you've seen people using AI in their business and you're wondering how you could use it in yours, here's a demonstration on how I'm using ChatGPT to reply to wedding enquiries with emails like this. Before you do steps like this you want to map out a succinct and...
Six AI chat prompts celebrants can use to make fresh content today
Want to start playing with AI chat in a way that will make sense to your celebrancy practice and business? Here’s five prompts you can ask to get a unique insight into your business today.
Start playing with generative AI
The best way to understand computers forever is that they work on a GIGO system. Garbage in, garbage out. Whatever you put in gets computed and is spat back out at you. If it’s garbage in, you get garbage out. So here are a few things you can try to get your hands dirty this week, some ways to put some garbage in and see what comes out.
Get AI-generated summaries of your video calls
2020 brought us many gifts, but for so many the lasting gift is video calls. We had them before 2020 but they’re very normal to have today. So when I found this new tool that records, transcribes, and then summarises your video calls I was coloured curious.
Open up the old internet and just toss some stuff in there
Josh wrote an article here on the Celebrant Institute website and received lots of feedback on it, and Sarah had some thoughts on it. Here's the link to the edited article, and the archived version from before this podcast episode. Link to listen in new page or in...
How to become a wedding celebrant in Australia
A how-to guide for people wanting to become a wedding celebrant. It’s easy. You just need to want the best job in the universe, you need to believe that getting and being married is important and awesome + some public speaking skills wouldn’t go astray.
Celebrant, help wedding vendors not hate you
Be awesome at your job, do your job, only your job, not other people’s job, and don’t make it hard for them to do their job.
Marry From Home – is it legal for Australian couples?
Stephanie celebrant asks: I think many of us have seen and have been contacted by "Marry From Home", who are Advertising "Legal" online Weddings from anywhere in the world!? As Zoom weddings are not permitted in Australia and the company is based in the USA, would...
It’s time to update and modernise the Marriage Act of 1961
Over sixty years ago the Australian people were gifted one of the most progressive and liberating pieces of marriage legislation the world had seen. Anyone could marry, regardless of skin colour, place of birth, legal status, as long as you were 18 or over, not...
How to become a celebrant
How many times do we all hear it from a friend, a wedding industry colleague, or someone at a wedding, that they think they'd make a great celebrant and they want more information on it. After being asked the question a thousand times ourselves, Sarah and I developed...
I didn’t have a backup! Happy World Backup Day
As a wedding celebrant, you know better than anyone else how important it is to be prepared for the unexpected. From weather conditions to late vendors, to a family member showing up late, there's always something that can throw a wrench into even the most carefully...
Chat and AI is going to change your entire business
Four points that you should take away from this article: 1) The power of the first-mover and the advantages you can take from being one. 2) Social media is both broadening and shrinking. Broadening into wider broadcast-style models like we used to know as TV and radio, and shrinking into smaller group chats like Wavelength or even iMessage/WhatsApp/Telegram/Signal groups. 3) Generative AI is a new tool for you to use to do your work. 4) AI chat is going to replace the traditional search engine.
Love is patient, as should you business be
I was thinking about 1 Corinthians 13:4 to me recently. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." If you're a wedding celebrant you've probably heard it a thousand times before. A speaker I know once said, "Love is patient,...
My couple are breaking up, can I just not register their marriage?
Marie asks: I married a couple last night and when I got home registered the marriage and ordered their marriage certificate. This morning I woke up to a string of texts from the bride to not register the marriage and that she no longer wants to be married to him. What do I do? Or what do they do?
Email is the worst
A terribly poor recording of the Celebrant Talk Show with Josh and Sarah this week, Josh's laptop got drunk. Topics on this episode include: Does ageism exist in celebrancy? Being a celebrant with a disability Email systems and we're changing them and email is hell...
16 Growth ideas for wedding celebrants
A celebrant friend was complaining to me recently about the market, we’ve all had the same conversation, either us being whined at, or us doing the whining. The truth is that we are not owed our next enquiry or booking, we need to work for it. So here’s some ideas on how to work for it how to grow your business. Take any of these ideas and deploy in an authentic and meaningful way for you.
Five phrases you should use in your sales pitch
Five phrases you can incorporate into sales meetings with your couples to help win the wedding booking.
I got scammed, and it’ll happen to you!
It was about 4pm in the afternoon here in Mexico and I had just emptied my inbox, a noble task in 2023, and the email came in. The email that scares me the most: my main domain name’s renewal had failed due a credit card issue. The last thing I want is for our business’s website and email to fail because the domain name renewal failed.
The difference between religious ministers and civil celebrants
Karen asks: What are the differences/similarities, restrictions and allowances between a celebrant-led wedding and a church wedding, that is, by
an ordained minister. I have noticed a lot of confusion and even ignorance about what can and can’t be done when the question of faith is raised. Can a celebrant read a biblical text, what constitutes a church and why can’t all ministers perform weddings? I am a civil celebrant who came from a faith background and I know, there are many others as well.
Creating a marriage ceremony versus re-creating a marriage ceremony
When I talk about being unscripted in a ceremony, people often misread that as the oral version of just shooting from the hip, seeing where the bullets lie. The truth is, I’m more likely to be more prepared, more nervous, more excited, and more rehearsed than the average celebrant.
Change your passwords
Depending on who you talk to, International Change Your Password Day is January 20 or February 1. Either way, in Australia we’ve missed both those dates, and because I’m writing this in Mexico I just saw the tweet from Fastmail reminding me.
Regardless of the “national date” consider this your reminder to change all of the important passwords in your world. In my humble opinion, all of the important passwords in your life should be changed annually.
16 Ways a celebrant can end up in jail for six months
Sarah and I have been reviewing the Guidelines to the Marriage Act and one chapter caught my eye and I thought maybe you didn’t know how many things you could do that would end you up in jail for at least six months, or with “five penalty units” whatever they are.
You can find it all detailed heavily in the actual Marriage Act of 1961, but here’s the list of things a celebrant can do that could end them up in jail.
Remote witnessing of NOIMs in 2023
In early December the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s department’s Marriage Law and Celebrants Section let us know that the remote witnessing of NOIMs has been extended to 31 December 2023.
I’m challenging you to learn Markdown
Everyone has their little "thing" where they think if everyone else on the planet just did things this way then the world would be a better place, and honestly, I'm all for your and my weird little opinions. One that I really believe in is that everyone should write...
Can AI write an original marriage ceremony?
Yes, yes artificial intelligence can write a marriage ceremony, but can it present one well?
You’ve probably read the news about OpenAI’s new GPT-3 chatbot, ChatGPT, so I won’t mansplain AI to you, but I simply wanted to share what AI thought should happen in a marriage ceremony.
The preparation for this blog post involved asking ChatGPT a few questions, and minutes later I’ve got a simple and sweet marriage ceremony prepped. I also asked ChatGPT’s big brother, DALL-E to create a featured image for this post.
Cyberattack on AGD’s MarCel portal
The Attorney-General’s department MarCel database has been accessed by hackers. Find out how it was accessed and what we know about the data leak.
Marriage statistics 2021
I was about to give myself a long lunch break when my daily statistics release email came through from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (yes, we all know I'm a nerd) and top of the list was the marriage stats release for 2021! This is two whole weeks earlier than...
Are meetings at cafes 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.”
Celebrant legal obligations online
Hopefully everyone has caught up on this major change to the way we do our work, but I know from my OPD classes that some people missed it. So here’s a super basic update.
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!
Being found is the new advertising
There are a few different kinds of marketing and advertising, but they can be mostly wrapped up under two headings: passive and active. Passive marketing is my favourite because it actively respects the nature of the wedding industry. People getting married are normal...
Market your celebrant services like Apple markets the iPhone
Jano le Roux, a copywriter, has done a deep dive on the marketing surrounding the new iPhone 14. Words matter, and they've pulled the Apple copywriting apart to show how it matters to the average Joe like you and me who will pony up for a new phone: You are the...
Maybe it will inspire some of us to rest
There's a new podcast episode out and Josh is moving to Mexico. Sarah's still not at rest but she has found a spectacular little trick for funerals using iMovie. Still no movement on the NOIM video witnessing push, and we're meeting with the AGD next month. Listen and...
Be a little more like Robbie Williams as a celebrant
I'll get the disappointment out of the way for everyone, I'm no AFL fan. Can you blame me? I'm a Queenslander born and bred, we worship NRL gods up here. Regardless, I heard people comment on Robbie Williams' performance to open the match was amazing, so I fired up my...
Tips for completing the compulsory OPD
We've had a lot of requests about whether we're going to run a session providing info about the compulsory OPD that is offered this year through the Marriage Celebrants Portal. In a word: no. The reason is that there are a bank of multiple choice questions and every...
Where should the celebrant stand in a wedding ceremony? Josh’s view
Where should the celebrant stand in a marriage ceremony? There’s no rule, law, or correct answer, but I’ll lay out the fundamentals on how I make my decision on where to stand, because it’s not always the same decision being made.
Utilise the power of the “Zero Price Effect”
Communicating value, selling your services, and convincing couples you're worth your fee, is all hard work. Sometimes we discover psychological tricks to lubricate that process, things that can make it easier. Today's introduction to that list of sales tricks is the...
Ted Gioia’s 10 rules for public speaking
Every celebrant should read this post from Ted Gioia on his 10 rules for public speaking, and my challenge to you is to integrate at least one, if not all of them, into your next ceremony.
You must call yourself a marriage celebrant
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.
My iPad lost everything, how can I prevent this?
S writes in with a question about data loss and iPads: What are your back up plans when it comes to “Digital Paperwork”? I recently had the scenario of my iPad wiping all my files on the way to a wedding! Not sure how, but everything was there when I left home and...
Remote witnessing of NOIMS – help make it permanent!
Let’s make remote witnessing of NOIMs permanent! We need your help to change marriage law.
Happy Podcast New Year!
We know, we know, we’ve been away for a whole year, but we’re back! In this episode we talk about where we’re both at in July 2022, and the major things that have happened in celebrancy and at the Celebrant Institute in the last 12 months.
A lesson from Kobe Bryant for celebrants
Starting from zero is hard. I’ve found that creating from scratch, staring at a blank Word document, or an empty notepad, is the hardest work, like pushing a boulder uphill it requires you to muster everything inside of you. It’s a question new celebrants pose to us here at the Celebrant Institute every week: how to get started.
This is your permission to raise your fees in 2022
Sarah and my accounting software of choice - Xero - just emailed us that our Xero plan (the standard) is increasing in price by $5 a month to $59. Fuel costs a lot more. Lettuce costs a lot more. Housing, rent, and mortgages are costing more than they did one and even...
How did I do 27 weddings in one month?
A few responses to my May 2022 email about having done 27 marriage ceremonies this month before prompted questions from celebrants across our Australian membership base and even internationally. Donna asked “how do you juggle that many” and others asked how I got that many bookings and other questions around the zone. How did I get 27 weddings in one month? Well, first of all, two of them were last-minute additions because a Celebrant Institute member got the spicy cough, and only two were fresh bookings or “new money” if you like. The rest were layovers from the two years of Covid – many couples on their third or fifth date — plus there were a handful of flood postponements as well. In the end, I’ve committed to just getting them done. That said, I’ve always operated at a high level of work in my business, and I’ve always had these words from Kevin Kelly in my mind when getting there:
The law of social proof and celebrancy
When unsure how to act, people copy others, outsourcing their own decisions to others. Not only is this true when choosing a shop, or a cafe, but in weddings as well.
Do I need more than one domain name for my website?
Elaine asks: When I obtained my Domain Name of domainname.com.au from Melbourne IT when I first started back in 2014, I was ‘advised’ to secure domainname.net and domainname.com too, to prevent ‘others’ from setting up a similar website. The .com.au is the one I use...
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