If you're planning your wedding, your mind is probably on clothes, the venue, and all the trappings. One thing that's easy to forget about is the ceremony and the Perth marriage celebrant who'll officiate. Selecting the right celebrant is a big deal, but it doesn't have to be hard.

There are two types of celebrants - those who offer religious ceremonies and those who offer civil ones. The specific celebrant you pick will depend on what you're expecting out of your ceremony. Depending on who you choose, you could open up a wide range of non-traditional venues for your ceremony, in and around Perth.

A religious celebrant is a good choice if you want to be married in your church. For couples who are of mixed faith or none, a celebrant willing to perform a more secular ceremony is a better choice.

In Perth, the right marriage celebrant will be willing to offer several different options for your ceremony, or assist you in creating a special ceremony just for you. You should never feel uncomfortable or pressured by your celebrant - if you do, think hard about your choice.

The good news is that there are more choices than ever before, giving you a wide range of candidates to interview. The Perth area has many marriage celebrants available - all you need to do is contact them and see how well you fit with their services and style.

There are several different places to start when looking for marriage celebrants in Perth. You can ask friends and relatives in the area who they might recommend. However, this method doesn't work if you don't know anyone who's recently gotten married, or you're from elsewhere, but would like to be married in Perth.

The telephone directory can be a good springing off point. Look up names and contact information for marriage celebrants there, or via a search engine. This will turn up web pages and other information.

Of course, a wedding directory like True Bride is an excellent place to start, too. Just enter your post code into the search dialog and select the radius in which you'd like to search. You can choose from as little as 3 km or as much as 30 km, depending on how close to home you'd like your celebrant to be.

One advantage of using a directory like this is that you can see what others think of a particular celebrant. Other users will rate their experience from one to five stars. Some of the best marriage celebrants in the Perth area include Vonne Michelle, Graham Lambert, Reg Oakes and Oven Davies, and that's far from the entire list.

Remember to personally interview any celebrant you're interested in having officiate your wedding. You should feel comfortable and informed, and a good celebrant should be willing to work with you. Don't feel bad if the first person you contact isn't the right one for you - a little searching is all it takes to find the perfect marriage celebrant in Perth.