Celebrant
Celebrants conduct personalised wedding, naming and funeral ceremonies. They also help mark other important occasions and relationships.
What you'll do
As a celebrant, you would:
- meet with couples and families to plan the ceremony they want
- offer practical advice on things like venues, music and timings
- help clients to write personal vows, tributes or readings
- organise a rehearsal before the actual event
- lead the ceremony on the day
- advise clients about legal obligations, like registering a marriage
- market your business to attract clients
Working environment
You could work at a venue or at a client's home.
Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time.
Skills and knowledge you'll need
You'll need:
- sensitivity and understanding
- customer service skills
- excellent verbal communication skills
- the ability to work well with others
- leadership skills
- the ability to use your initiative
- active listening skills
- business management skills
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
How to become a celebrant
You can get into this job through a private training course.
Other routes
You do not need formal qualifications to become a celebrant though training may help your career prospects.
You can search online for celebrancy training providers that offer courses in wedding, funeral and naming ceremonies. Some courses also allow you to complete a nationally recognised qualification in celebrancy.
Courses vary in length, cost and entry requirements, so it's important to do your research to find a course that is right for you.
Excellent organisational skills and sensitivity to people's emotions when planning and conducting ceremonies is very important. You'll also need the ability to speak confidently in public and bring out participants' life stories in an engaging way.
Experience in wedding or event planning may be helpful but is not essential.
Restrictions and requirements
You'll need to:
- pass background checks
Career path and progression
As an experienced celebrant, you may wish to train in conducting different types of ceremonies, or set up your own celebrant training business. You could also offer related services, such as wedding or event planning.
You could use your skills to move into areas like counselling, for example bereavement counselling or family mediation.
Career tips
Celebrants are usually self-employed and often combine their work with a second career, for example wedding planning, events management or funeral directing.
Guides for this industry
Related roles
- Job roleEvents manager
- Job roleWedding planner
- Job roleCounsellor
- Job roleRegistrar of births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships
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