How to be a funeral celebrant
This course is your roadmap to professional, thoughtful, and sustainable funeral work. Learn how to approach funerals with care—from the first client call through to the ceremony itself—with guidance from experienced celebrant Sarah Aird.
What you’ll learn:
- The purpose and evolution of funeral ceremonies
- How funerals work in Australia today
- Your role as a funeral celebrant
- Sarah’s full client journey: from enquiry to ceremony delivery
- Scripts, checklists, and planning tools to use straight away
What’s included:
- 2h 38m of video
- 4h 44m of text + a 42-page booklet
- 4 document templates (booking form, checklist, eulogy prompts, AV run sheet)
- Real-world examples: 3 full scripts, 2 filmed ceremonies
Includes lifetime access so you can revisit whenever you need.
Buy the course on how to become a funeral celebrant in Australia
Marriage law refresher
Learn the Legal Essentials of Marriage Celebrancy in Australia
A practical, professional development course for authorised celebrants covering everything you need to legally marry couples in Australia—from lodging the NOIM to registering the marriage. Choose between:
- Basics Course: A full walkthrough of legal requirements and obligations for every marriage.
- Uncommon Extras Course: A deep dive into rare but important legal scenarios (e.g., prospective marriage visas, shortening of time, second marriages).
- Bundle Option: Get both together for the complete legal toolkit.
What’s included:
- 3h 39m of video
- 5h 44m of text + two detailed booklets
- 5 useful document templates
You’ll cover all the forms, legal procedures, and rare edge cases—plus you’ll get lifetime access for ongoing reference.
Buy the Bundle, the Basics, or the Extras
Completing the legal forms
Need a refresher on how to complete the latest marriage forms? This course gives you a step-by-step walkthrough of every required field across all key documents—so you can be accurate, compliant, and confident.
What you’ll learn:
- How to correctly complete the NOIM, Declaration of No Legal Impediment, Form 15, Official Certificates of Marriage, and the Record of Use
- How to identify and fix common errors
- The definition of “one month” and how it impacts your paperwork
What’s included:
- 1h 30m of video
- 1h 54m of text + 34-page booklet
- 1 downloadable template (Form 15)
Also included in the full Marriage Law Basics course, or available as a standalone option. Includes lifetime access.
Learn how to use the most recent marriage paperwork with this online course.
The Marriage Client Journey
Deliver a Consistent, High-Quality Celebrant Experience with Sarah Aird
Discover how Sarah Aird crafts a seamless, repeatable client journey for every couple she works with. This course is a behind-the-scenes look at her end-to-end celebrant workflow—from the first enquiry to post-wedding follow-up—designed to help you elevate your professionalism and efficiency.
What you’ll learn:
- How to manage your celebrancy clients from enquiry to ceremony
- Communication, planning, and workflow strategies that scale
- Sarah’s full process including meetings, scripting, payments, and follow-up
- Real-life ceremony scripts and examples
What’s included:
- 3h of video
- 5h of text + a 40-page booklet
- 15 downloadable templates (valued at $120 in the shop), including: Ceremony Builder Booklet, client emails, Form 15, invoice/receipt, checklist, vow pack, planning tools, and more
- 3 full ceremony scripts + 2 ceremony videos
Includes lifetime access for ongoing reference.
Helping with prospective marriage visa
Supporting Prospective Marriage Visa Applications as a Celebrant
This short course helps you understand your role in a couple’s Prospective Marriage Visa application, including what’s required and how to confidently provide a letter of support.
What you’ll learn:
- The background and requirements of the visa process
- Your legal and professional responsibilities
- How Sarah Aird handles these requests in her own practice
What’s included:
- 11-minute video
- 29 minutes of text + 6-page booklet
- 1 downloadable template (letter of support)
Also included in the Uncommon Extras course, or available to purchase on its own. Lifetime access included.
Buy this course on helping your clients with their Prospective Marriage Visa application
Co-piloting a marriage ceremony
Co-Presenting a Ceremony with an Unauthorised Person
Learn what the law says about sharing a ceremony with someone who isn’t an authorised celebrant—and how to handle it professionally and legally. Sarah Aird shares her approach and outlines your obligations.
What you’ll learn:
- Legal considerations when co-presenting with a friend, family member, or other unauthorised person
- How to protect the validity of the marriage while honouring your couple’s wishes
- Sarah’s process and advice for navigating these requests
What’s included:
- 8-minute video
- 18 minutes of text + 6-page booklet
Also included in the Uncommon Extras course, or available to purchase on its own. Lifetime access included.
How to get a shortening of time
This mini-course explains when and how a couple can apply for a shortening of time on their NOIM—and how you, as their celebrant, can support them through the process.
What you’ll learn:
- The five legal grounds for shortening of time
- Your role in supporting the application
- How Sarah Aird prepares a letter of support and confirms availability
What’s included:
- 16-minute video
- 30 minutes of text + 7-page booklet
- 1 downloadable template (letter of support/availability)
Also included in the Uncommon Extras course, or available as a standalone. Lifetime access included.
Celebrant Training and Professional Development Courses
Education is what you needed to do to become a celebrant. For many of us, it has been the Certificate IV in Celebrancy, for others, the various pathways into celebrancy that allowed us the accreditation and authorisation as a celebrant.
Education for a credential exchanges drive, excellence, and sustainability for compliance and certification for this credential. An institution can educate you, and if you want the Certificate IV in Celebrancy, we’d love to talk to you about it.
Professional development is about learning, not education. Education got you here, professional development will get you to where you want to be. Learning can’t be done to you. It is a choice and it requires active participation, not simple adherence to laws and guidelines.
We created the Celebrant Institute to make an opportunity for intentional learning. To create a space for the crazy celebrants, the ones who dared to excel, grow, lead, and influence our celebrancy community and the wedding industry.
We hope these professional development courses to help you achieve these goals.
OPD or PD?
Self-paced courses
Unlimited access
You can access and re-access the course as often as you want for as long as we offer it
At a time and place that suits you
Offered online with video and workbook content so you get to choose when you do the PD, where, and how
Follow-up mentoring and coaching available
Follow-up coaching and mentoring on an hourly basis is available