Choosing your perfect wedding celebrant is one of the most important parts of wedding planning. They are the person standing in front of you and your loved ones on one of the most important days of your married lives. As a result the celebrant or officiant is one of the most important people on your wedding day. They welcome your guests, officiate your wedding, and binds you and your partner together.
Whether your wedding is bohemian or festival themed or formal, you need a celebrant that can work with you and that both you and your partner are comfortable with. As a result, it is important that you meet with and speak to a number of celebrants before making your final choice. You need someone who not only works with your wedding style, but who also connects with you and your partner. You need to trust them with a lot of responsibility on your wedding day.
So today we are going to share our top tips to choosing the perfect wedding celebrant!
1: Decide the Tone of Your Wedding
One of the best ways to choose a celebrant is first to know the tone you want for your wedding day. It’s no good choosing a very traditional celebrant if your day is informal and relaxed, filled with laughter. And an informal celebrant is out of place at a very traditional, structured wedding. You need to use your wedding theme and tone as a framework for choosing a celebrant.
A good celebrant will ask you these kinds of questions – what the tone and theme of the wedding is – when you meet with them. They will then try to work with your style and requirements to create a highly personalised day. Your celebrant also needs to know your humour, nerves and how reserved – or unreserved – you are so they can put you at ease on your wedding day. It also helps them create the perfect speech for your wedding day.
2: Let Your Venue Work as a Guide
If you’re still not sure what sort of theme or tone you want for your wedding, you can use your venue as a guide. An outside, beach or farm wedding have very different feels to indoor weddings. Further, outdoor weddings definitely need a celebrant with a strong voice or the right equipment to cope with nature and different acoustics.
When meeting prospective celebrants, discuss their experience with your type of venue and ceremony and what ideas they might have. A great celebrant can help you get your creative juice flowing, as well as give you an example of what they can offer.
3: Creating a Personalised Ceremony
There are many ways you can make your wedding day truly special and personalised. From handfasting ceremonies to traditional ceremonies and more, the support and guidance of your celebrant can help you make the day special and symbolic for you and your partner.
It is important to remember that some celebrants specialise in particular ceremonies, so it’s best to do your research and find a celebrant that fits with your needs and ideas. It also means they will have experience in the kind of ceremony you want, over a celebrant who has never performed, say, a handfasting ceremony before.
This is especially important if you want to include religious or faith-based content in your ceremony. You need to find a celebrant who is comfortable, knowledgeable and experienced in the kind of religious ceremony you want.
4: Book Your Celebrant Early
Good celebrants get booked up fast so you need to ensure you have plenty of time to book a consultation and organise a date. The last thing you want is to find the perfect celebrant and find out they are already booked for your date.
Most celebrants will offer an availability calendar but it’s always worth contacting the celebrant first to see if they are more flexible on dates or times.
5: Check Celebrant Reviews
It’s a great idea to check the reviews for your celebrant before meeting with them. You can learn a lot from reading reviews from other brides and couples, to help you make your final decision. True Bride has real reviews from real brides so you can make the best decision possible on who will officiate your wedding! It also gives you insight into their style and flexibility.
6: Are You Comfortable Speaking to Them?
Above all, you need to be comfortable with your celebrant if they are going to be overseeing your wedding. You need to trust that they will deliver the perfect ceremony for your wedding day. By researching them and reading reviews, you can go into a consultation with a good idea of who you might be working with.
Your celebrant is an essential part of your wedding journey, so you need to have a good rapport with them. This is why it is important to not only research your celebrant but meet them in person, as well, before you lock them down.
Further, establishing a rapport with your celebrant will lead to a fantastic, personalised ceremony that is significant to you and your partner.
Planning a wedding in 2021? Now is the perfect time to start looking for and locking down a celebrant. Explore True Bride’s wedding directory, today, to find the perfect celebrant near you!
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