Category: The Art of Ceremony
Can AI write an original marriage ceremony?
Posted by Josh Withers | Dec 7, 2022 | The Art of Ceremony | 3 |
A ceremony as a series of ‘riffs’, tha...
Posted by Josh Withers | Mar 29, 2022 | The Art of Ceremony | 4 |
Acknowledgement of Country in our weddings
Posted by Josh Withers | Jan 26, 2021 | The Art of Ceremony | 5 |
Wedding rehearsals – a video
Posted by Sarah Aird | Jul 30, 2020 | The Art of Ceremony | 13 |
Where I stand during the ceremony, Josh’s point of view
by Josh Withers | Oct 15, 2024 | The Art of Ceremony | 1 |
Let’s talk about why I, as a celebrant, stand in the middle of the ceremony, right between the...
Read MoreHow to be a rockstar celebrant: commanding attention without a spotlight
by Josh Withers | Oct 10, 2024 | The Art of Ceremony | 0 |
Speaking to a group of people who don’t have to listen to you is a privilege I don’t take lightly....
Read MoreMy new favourite microphone: the Rode Interview Pro
by Josh Withers | Oct 2, 2024 | The Art of Ceremony | 0 |
For the last decade, I’ve famously recommended the Sennheiser EW range of wireless microphones to...
Read MoreHow to perform a commitment ceremony without breaking the law in Australia
by Josh Withers | Oct 2, 2024 | The Art of Ceremony | 0 |
A commitment ceremony can be an important and simple way to celebrate a marriage-like-love when the legal formalities of marriage according to the law in Australia aren’t possible, as in one of our member’s cases today where her couple won’t have their divorce papers ready in time. While not legally binding, these ceremonies can be as meaningful and special as a wedding, maintaining a fun, honest, and legal approach without stepping into the realm of marriage solemnisation under Australian law.
Read MoreThe deal with Australian celebrants and international weddings
by Josh Withers | Sep 23, 2024 | Our Guidelines to Australian Marriage Law, The Art of Ceremony | 2 |
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
Read MoreBest portable PA speaker system for wedding celebrants in 2024
by Josh Withers | Aug 21, 2024 | The Art of Ceremony | 48 |
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.
Read MorePublic speaking skills you can learn from Steve Jobs and John Mulaney
by Josh Withers | Mar 20, 2024 | The Art of Ceremony | 0 |
As a wedding celebrant, our role is pivotal in creating a memorable experience for couples on...
Read MoreCard Buddy, your new ceremony writing app
by Josh Withers | Mar 15, 2024 | The Art of Ceremony | 4 |
I’ve described my ceremony preparation and writing style before as a series of...
Read MoreNew “stuff” to include in your wedding ceremonies
by Josh Withers | Feb 17, 2024 | The Art of Ceremony | 0 |
I would like “new stuff” to include in my ceremonies.
Read MoreCreating a marriage ceremony versus re-creating a marriage ceremony
by Josh Withers | Feb 12, 2023 | The Art of Ceremony | 5 |
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.
Read MoreCan AI write an original marriage ceremony?
by Josh Withers | Dec 7, 2022 | The Art of Ceremony | 3 |
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.
Read MoreBe a little more like Robbie Williams as a celebrant
by Josh Withers | Sep 25, 2022 | The Art of Ceremony | 3 |
I’ll get the disappointment out of the way for everyone, I’m no AFL fan. Can you blame...
Read MoreWhere should the celebrant stand in a wedding ceremony? Josh’s view
by Josh Withers | Aug 31, 2022 | The Art of Ceremony | 2 |
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.
Read MoreTed Gioia’s 10 rules for public speaking
by Josh Withers | Aug 21, 2022 | The Art of Ceremony | 2 |
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.
Read MoreA ceremony as a series of ‘riffs’, that’s how I’m unscripted
by Josh Withers | Mar 29, 2022 | The Art of Ceremony | 4 |
When you mention my name to another celebrant, apparently the most common thing people talk about...
Read MoreWhen the celebrant gets sick mid-ceremony…
by Sarah Aird | Jan 24, 2022 | The Art of Ceremony | 14 |
What do you do when you’re the one who gets sick mid-ceremony?
Read MoreAcknowledgement of Country in our weddings
by Josh Withers | Jan 26, 2021 | The Art of Ceremony | 5 |
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.
Read MoreShould I use a speaker stand, and should I use a PA for 10 guests?
by Josh Withers | Sep 20, 2020 | The Art of Ceremony | 0 |
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.
Read MoreYou don’t have to do everything
by Josh Withers | Aug 7, 2020 | COVID-19, The Art of Ceremony | 0 |
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.
Read MoreLive streaming a wedding, and what about the music copyright?
by Josh Withers | Aug 7, 2020 | The Art of Ceremony | 0 |
A member asks: Am I correct in assuming that couple’s cannot live stream their marriage ceremony given music copyright issues? Sign in or become a...
Read MoreWedding rehearsals – a video
by Sarah Aird | Jul 30, 2020 | The Art of Ceremony | 13 |
I’ve been creating some video content for my Cert IV students and thought I might share it with all of you too, in case you find it interesting!
In this video I take you through how I run a wedding rehearsal. Please note this is only how I do it; I don’t expect you or anyone else to do it this way, but hopefully it will give you some ideas. Remember my philosophy with these things is that you should collect as much information from as many celebrants as possible, pick what you like and what you don’t, and hopefully that will help to inform the way you do things!
Read MoreWe’ll do it live!
by Josh Withers | Jun 23, 2020 | The Art of Ceremony | 3 |
My friend, and article writing accountability partner, Jeremy asks: You mentioned in a previous podcast you would put up a post about how you live stream a wedding and what tools you use to do so. You still planning to put this up, mate?
Read MoreCreating an intimate ceremony, and including kids
by Josh Withers | Jun 22, 2020 | The Art of Ceremony | 1 |
A reader asks: I am officiating my cousin’s wedding next month and this is a particularly special one. It is going to be very intimate and relaxed – it’s also really important as my cousin was actually diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer this year (fk cancer!) and it’s really important to me to put together a really beautiful ceremony, but also one that is relaxed and casual just like their style! I was doing some research and wanted to find some nice ideas on how to include kids in the ceremony – they’ve both been married previously and are a blended family. I’ve mentioned how they can write special vows for their step children, or have a community vow – but i am very open to other ideas too – just nothing that is too ‘traditional’. I’ve never performed such a small and intimate ceremony before so was wondering if you had any advice for me – also with these special circumstances, we want to keep this a really positive celebration of their relationship but just wondering if you both had any experience with someone going through this and if there was anything different they included – i absolutely know it really comes down to the individual couple and what they want to include but just interested to know how you would approach this.
Read MoreSending ceremony recordings instead of written drafts – a new idea!
by Sarah Aird | Jun 15, 2020 | The Art of Ceremony | 14 |
What if we sent a voice recording of a ceremony to a couple instead of a written draft?
Read MoreGetting ceremony audio to videographers
by Josh Withers | Jun 5, 2020 | The Art of Ceremony | 3 |
Maria asks: Hi Josh, you’ve mentioned you record the audio during your ceremonies to give to the videographer if they choose for better audio. Firstly, what equipment do you use and how do you hook it up and secondly, do you use it for any other purpose other than to help with the videographer?
Read MoreHow to marry people overseas
by Josh Withers | May 8, 2020 | Our Guidelines to Australian Marriage Law, The Art of Ceremony | 2 |
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?
Read More“Ceremony writing is my least favourite part”
by Josh Withers | Mar 6, 2020 | The Art of Ceremony | 1 |
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.
Read MoreWill a hot outdoor wedding cook my PA system?
by Josh Withers | Jan 26, 2020 | The Art of Ceremony | 1 |
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?
Read MoreComparing a Josh wedding ceremony and a Sarah ceremony
by Josh Withers | Jan 23, 2020 | The Art of Ceremony | 10 |
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.
Read MoreA review of Wedwordy, a ceremony script creator
by Josh Withers | Dec 2, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 5 |
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.
Read MoreHow to surprise a couple with a ceremony
by Josh Withers | Nov 21, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 3 |
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.
Read MoreJosh’s ceremony inclusions
by Josh Withers | Nov 21, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 1 |
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!
Read MoreSarah’s ceremony inclusions
by Sarah Aird | Nov 20, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 0 |
What do you include in your ceremonies?
Read MoreGetting the guests to obey you
by Sarah Aird | Nov 12, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 2 |
I recently had a ceremony which was in a very sunny/hot location, I asked the guests multiple times to move over to the ceremony area but they all resisted and stayed in the shade. I walked over and specifically asked them to move over and some did but some still didn’t. What are your tips?
Read MoreHow to say the monitum with warmth
by Josh Withers | Oct 15, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 8 |
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!
Read MoreHigh pitched squeak out of the speaker system
by Josh Withers | Sep 26, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 4 |
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.
Read MoreHow to use two Bose S1 speakers in a wedding ceremony
by Josh Withers | Sep 25, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 6 |
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??
Read MoreHow to be a wedding reception MC
by Josh Withers | Sep 17, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 1 |
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.
Read MoreDeveloping your own ceremony performance style: Sarah’s view
by Sarah Aird | Jul 31, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 2 |
Alexandra says, “I’m getting anxious about what to do before the ceremony starts and pressure to be funny during the ceremony – am I overthinking it?”
Read MoreSharing ceremony content
by Sarah Aird | Jul 12, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 3 |
Jeff asks: I share my ceremonies with my couples using Google Docs. Every once in awhile I have a venue coordinator or wedding planner request access to the document, to which I normally deny access by kindly emailing them directly asking if I can help them out with anything specific. I kind of feel like there’s no reason for them to need to see the ceremony or have access, especially if it’s a venue I’ve been at a bunch of times. I would never request access to their day-of timeline they’ve created, that’s their business…
Read MoreCan we marry people on the water or in the air in Australia?
by Josh Withers | Apr 22, 2019 | Our Guidelines to Australian Marriage Law, The Art of Ceremony | 2 |
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?
Read MoreHow to make a great ceremony without a rehearsal
by Josh Withers | Apr 16, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 5 |
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
Read MoreDealing with nerves and stage fright
by Sarah Aird | Mar 21, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 1 |
Cass asks: My question is more of a concern. I already have full time work in the theatre so celebrancy for me was more of a service I wanted to provide for friends and family. I think celebrating love is one of the most beautiful and important things we can do as a society and for me it has always been about the intimacy of the couple. I used to be quite a confident public speaker when I was in high school but now I’m almost 30 I feel absolute terror at the thought of performing such an important task in front of potentially hundreds of people. I know the day is obviously about the couple and not me but I don’t want my nerves to interfere with their special moment. Do you have advice (apart from practice) to combat serious stage fright?
Read MoreHow I perform ceremonies without notes or a script
by Josh Withers | Mar 7, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 1 |
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.
Read MoreCeremony design process
by Sarah Aird | Feb 5, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 5 |
Veronica has had a pretty rough trot with a renewal couple: They were one of my first bookings after becoming a celebrant. I was really unsure of how a renewal should run…only that it would be similar to a wedding just really without the legals. Since our first meeting in September, I have met with them four times, multiple messages and numerous phone calls. They sent me their desired ceremony plan. Which essentially had me as an MC…introducing a number of speakers and readers. They had also put my name against a couple of tasks. So based on that I wrote a script (as not very good at ad lib) and went to meet with them for a “rehearsal”. They almost tore the script to shreds. They had also added and removed things from their original plan without telling me and wanted to know where I planned on putting these new ideas in the ceremony. Not liking my suggestions and especially suggesting that it was getting a bit long. Decided to sit back and let them decide. We finally came to a mutual agreement and now they want to see my amended script so they can check it all over before finalising.So, feeling a little flattened and that I have had to work exceptionally hard for my fee (which is less than what I charge for a wedding). Did I miss something? Should I have asked questions differently? Really not wanting to go anywhere near Vow Renewals any more. How should I have handled it all?
Read MoreVow and ring exchange logistics
by Sarah Aird | Feb 5, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 6 |
Tori asks: I have a logistics question for you around microphones/vow cards/ring exchanges. My first ceremony is fast approaching, and my couple have written their own vows. The plan at the moment is for me to hop out of the way during the vow exchange, leaving them to hold the mic for themselves while they read from their respective vow cards. They like the idea of ending the vows with the ring exchange (e.g. the bride would hold the mic for herself, read from her vow card, and wrap her vows up by presenting her partner with the ring. Then they would swap, and he would hold the mic for himself, read from his vow card and finish it off by presenting her with the ring). My concern is this – doing it this way would leave them with a lot to juggle – holding the mic and their vow card, plus a ring which they will be slipping on the other person’s hand at the same time. I guess my question is this: what do you find works best in the situation – do you tend to always hold the mic for the couple if they are reading from vow cards, or would you just avoid combining the ring exchange in with the vows, and instead let them do the vows with you out of the way and then come back in to feed them their ring exchange wording while holding the mic for them?
Read MoreWhat do I read my ceremony from?
by Sarah Aird | Jan 30, 2019 | The Art of Ceremony | 12 |
Tori asks: I have my first ceremony coming up in a week and a half (for a good friend), and while I am feeling pretty on top of things overall, I am still trying to work out what I will use to read from on the day. I was hoping you could talk a little bit about your experience/thoughts on using a tablet (which I’ve noticed quite a few celebrants tend to be doing?) VS something like a nice looking binder. Any specific tips/considerations either way (e.g. if you use a tablet, do you find a cover for it that you can tuck vow cards into?), and if you do go the binder/folder route, any ideas for where to buy something appropriate? Last question! If you do tend to use a tablet, do you always have a hard copy as backup anyway?
Read MoreHow do I do marriage certificates?
by Josh Withers | Dec 30, 2018 | The Art of Ceremony | 8 |
Julia asks “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?” I’ll answer Julia’s question along with a wider explanation of how I prepare all of my paperwork, including the Form 15.
Read MoreHow I make personal ceremonies
by Josh Withers | Dec 29, 2018 | The Art of Ceremony | 5 |
When creating a marriage ceremony, my goal isn’t to personalise my ceremony, but to make it...
Read MoreRehearsals – to have them or not to have them?
by Sarah Aird | Nov 27, 2018 | The Art of Ceremony | 1 |
Sarita asks: Normally I’d do a rehearsal or rough run through with the couple. I have a couple asking about a rehearsal with the full bridal party. Sign in or become a...
Read MoreScheduling multiple ceremonies in a day
by Josh Withers | Oct 28, 2018 | The Art of Ceremony | 2 |
Sean asks “Do you have any advice on taking multiple bookings in a day? Accounting for...
Read MoreCo-delivering a marriage ceremony
by Sarah Aird | Aug 31, 2018 | Our Guidelines to Australian Marriage Law, The Art of Ceremony | 6 |
Josh asks: I have a celebrant mate of mine whose registration is pending with the AG’s office. But, she has a friend’s wedding coming up towards the end of September, which is the reason why she completed the course. I initially completed the NOIM for her and kept the date in September free (just in case), but what would you recommend I do to help from here? Should I just hang tight and wait for the AG or can I take care of the legals and have the other celebrant deliver the ceremony (other than the legal elements of course)? Also how would this work if the other celebrant has spent the time getting to know the couple and I have simply helped in a legal capacity? It’s definitely possible for an authorised celebrant to manage the legalities of the ceremony while another person (whether a pending celebrant or a friend of the couple) delivers the “ceremonial” aspects of the ceremony.
Read MoreiPad Celebrants, you need this tip
by Josh Withers | Aug 22, 2018 | The Art of Ceremony | 5 |
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...
Read MoreHow to MC a wedding reception, a guide for celebrants
by Josh Withers | Aug 22, 2018 | The Art of Ceremony | 5 |
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...
Read MoreWhat to do about crying
by Josh Withers | Aug 9, 2018 | The Art of Ceremony | 4 |
“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 hand her a tissue and keep going? Do I wait until she regains composure? Do I try cracking a joke? Do I devise a “safe” word with the couple before the ceremony? I don’t want to embarrass anyone by drawing attention to it or making them feel bad about their reactions, but I also want to make sure they have a wonderful ceremony and can be present in the moment. How do long-time pros handle the floods of emotions from the couples – crying, uncontrollable giggling, nervous twitches? I’d love to know your techniques and any other thoughts from celebrants in the comments section.”
Read MoreWhere I stand during the ceremony. Sarah’s view
by Sarah Aird | Aug 9, 2018 | The Art of Ceremony | 16 |
Ann asks:
Sarah, I’ve just had a quick look at your website. I noticed you usually stand to the side of your bride and groom, not behind them. It looks really good. I imagine when you first started you tried all spots to stand and this was the best? Any hints on this Sarah?
You’re absolutely right Ann, it took me a bit of trial and error and a lot of talking to other celebrants to figure out where I was most comfortable standing during the ceremony. Let me take you through how I worked it out! But first a reminder that this is the way it works for ME; I’m not saying it’s right or the only way, I’m not saying the other ways are wrong (even though I will tell you why they don’t work for me), I’m simply letting you know that this is how I prefer to operate. Want to know how Josh operates?
Read MoreHow to position your PA speaker for a wedding ceremony
by Josh Withers | Jul 23, 2018 | The Art of Ceremony | 6 |
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?
Read MoreFive ways to make your ceremonies better
by Josh Withers | Jul 19, 2018 | The Art of Ceremony | 2 |
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 don’t read this and feel judged or ashamed. If your style is you at your best, and in a style that you would like to receive, then be proud. Hopefully these five points might inspire you to expand your presentation style and take you out of your comfort zone, which can only make you better.
Read Seth Godin’s post first, and then I’ve got a translation for celebrants below.
Read MorePersonal vows and their content
by Sarah Aird | Jul 18, 2018 | Our Guidelines to Australian Marriage Law, The Art of Ceremony | 11 |
Veronica asks: I know according to section 45(2) of the Marriage Act, couples are required to say “I call upon the persons here present to witness that I, A.B. (or C.D.), take thee, C.D. (or A.B.), to be my lawful wedded wife (or husband); or words to that effect.” When it comes to couples personalising their vows, aside from the previous mentioned, do couples have to say certain things, or are they free to say what they see fit?
Read MoreMy ceremony writing timeline
by Sarah Aird | Jul 18, 2018 | The Art of Ceremony | 12 |
Mercy asks: This relates to the questionnaire you send your couples. I’ve been doing the same, but as I’m fairly new, don’t really have a system in place as to when couples need to get back to me. When you send the questionnaire do you give your couples a deadline, if so do they generally stick to it, and what if they don’t?? And when do you tell couples you’ll send a first draft, final draft etc? Or do you sometimes have to play by ear according to the couples. So far I haven’t had any issues but I imagine some couples dragging their feet could affect getting the ceremony written. Would love your input on this.
Read MoreMy Ceremony Builder Booklet
by Sarah Aird | Jul 17, 2018 | The Art of Ceremony | 12 |
Mercy asks: I’d like to know about your booklet. The idea of printing an expensive booklet seemed a bit outdated to me, given that there are so many resources online and such a diversity of options for couples these days. None of my couples so far have been interested in readings, and I’m reluctant to pin them down as far as ceremony structure goes either, until I know more about them. What does your booklet look like, how many pages etc and what quality do you recommend? Do you find that couples choose structure and content based on the booklet or do you also provide links? And how do you get around the fact that you may want to update it when you find more content? I worry about the expense when I think about how often I come across new stuff and imagine wanting to change things up often. I know not all celebrants provide a booklet of information to their couples, but I have since the beginning of my life as a celebrant, and I find it helps both me and the couple stay on track and organised, and the couples who choose to work with me love the way it helps them plan out their ceremony.
Read MoreCeremony script writing – Sarah’s view
by Sarah Aird | Jul 12, 2018 | The Art of Ceremony | 9 |
Liane asks: As a reasonably new celebrant (2016) my question to you both is how can I improve my skills and knowledge on writing ceremony scripts? How do you guys keep yourselves updated and up-skilled in this area? Can you recommend any resources, websites etc to increase my creative bank (example quotes, styles of weddings)? What framework do you both use when creating your wedding script?
Read MoreHow to protect the copyright of your ceremony scripts
by Josh Withers | Jul 6, 2018 | The Art of Ceremony | 2 |
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.
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