Why are celebrants so expensive?
Are they, though? If you google “celebrants victoria” or “celebrants melbourne” or “best celebrants” you’ll see the section called People Also Ask. And one of the recurring questions is “why are celebrants so expensive?”. Compared to many other facets of a wedding day, celebrant fees do not even come close. So, perhaps, the question might instead be “how much do I value the role of the celebrant in my wedding and how much of my budget can I allocate to that?”
A celebrant will cost you anywhere between $600 and $2000, often depending on location, travel allowances and - the big one - experience. But their price won’t always be a direct reflection of these three characteristics. A beginning celebrant in Melbourne may be able to charge as much as an experienced celebrant in a rural area. And how you choose to spend your money will likely coincide with how much value you place on their role in your day. To help you understand what a celebrant does and why they may be quoting you a higher price than you were expecting, here are some of the basic tasks a celebrant performs, followed by some of the above-and-beyond things they might do for you.
** but before that, let’s not ignore the elephant in the room. The most important function of a celebrant is to make your very expensive party an actual wedding!**
basic stuff (which you should expect from even the lower-priced celes)
correct preparation of paperwork
correct legal practise
an outline or explanation for you of the legal and organisational aspects of getting married
friendly demeanour and a couple-first approach
punctuality and an adherence to the Marriage Celebrants Code of Practice, issued by the Attorney-General’s department
some attempts to learn your story and get to know you, even if you aren’t personalising your ceremony
travel fees if they need to go far from home to marry you
extra stuff you should definitely be looking for, especially if you’re spending more
recommendations or good reviews - this is the best way to know what your celebrant does well. If you know what kind of celebrant you want, seek out these key features in the reviews you read
personality and creativity to craft and deliver a great ceremony
years of experience in the field and in other work that might be relevant
a really decent PA system to ensure your guests hear the whole thing clearly and without disruption plus a great on-mic manner that is easy to listen to
organisation! You shouldn’t have to chase your celebrant.
an aesthetic that matches yours
a can-do attitude. Your wedding may throw some curve balls and a clever and adaptable celebrant will handle them all with calmness and compassion.
fee breakdown
In a recent report released by Easy Weddings (read it here), celebrants self-reported an average of 16 hours spent on each wedding (but the average celebrant fee in Victoria was only $963). If your celebrant only cost you $1000 and did 16 hours of work, they are getting paid only $62.50 an hour. Take super, memberships, insurance and equipment costs out of that and you aren’t left with much of a profit. Remembering that celebrants, like all other people everywhere, are subject to the same cost of living pressures and demands of life is helpful in understanding their fees.
so, what are you looking for?
If your wedding planning is budget-first, there will absolutely be a celebrant out there who is not “so expensive”. In fact, you can get married at the registry in Victoria (the only other legal option for sealing the deal), which costs at least $370. But if you’re looking for something more; for your wedding vibes to kick off at your ceremony, then you might need to consider expanding your ceremony budget.
Whatever the case, I don’t believe celebrant are “so expensive”. I think they just cost what they cost, and that mightn’t always fit everyone’s budget.